Mahele Hana Hui
by angelofjoy
Summary: When Steve is deployed and Danny is left behind to take on the task force how do they survive as a team divided?
1. The Best of the Best

**A/N: Hello My Lovelies, I'm back! I've missed you all and your wonderful comments. If you're a new reader, hello and I love you already. If you are one of my 'followers', Hey, you know I adore you right?**

**Welcome to my newest endeavor, **_**Mahele Hana Hui**_** (Divide to Unite). This story has been in the works for quite sometime. I've been playing with the idea of a Steve deployment story and its been coming to me in the little vignette that, if you follow **_**The Songs of Our Lives Part I and II**_**, you'll know about the things that probably will happen in this story. But I believed that it needed to be a full chaptered story and many people have told me they want to read it, so here it is, well its start!**

**Who LOVED last night's premier? I DID! There are a couple of things that I am going to ignore for this story, or maybe I wont, I haven't decided yet, but this is going to be a very team centered story with Danny, Kono, Chin and Jenna working together. I haven't met Lori yet, and I really don't want to so she's not allowed in my world! But I really liked Joe White, so he's got a little part and well Steve's there but not really because he's being deployed! You'll just have to read and see how things pan out. **

**Note: there are no spoilers for the premier in this story as of right now.**

**As always I own nothing they all belong to CBS. **

**Enjoy and I'll catch you in Chapter 2.**

Chapter 1: The Best of the Best

Detective Danny Williams walked into the Five-O office, his sides in pain from laughing so hard as he wiped tears from his eyes and caught the keys to his car as they flew in his direction. His partner, Steve McGarrett, had been regaling him with his exploits and jokingly developing further interrogation methods when they returned to HQ to round off their lazy Friday before a brilliantly book and anticipated moment of relaxation with their favorite minor, Grace. All was well and good in the world of Five-O. Everything was back to normal, their crew was whole, they were undivided and they were happy; it had been a long time since Danny could say he was happy. It to be a bad omen, something was bound to go wrong.

Earlier that afternoon, Danny, in his infinite wisdom, had invited Steve to take a late lunch at one of their favorite diners, after their morning court appearance, and that was when the hilarities ensued. They had stopped, had lunch, picked up something for the weekend and the social gathering that would consist of members of Five-O and Kamekona, and then headed back to the office. Light and lazy wasn't the norm for Five-O but it was a welcome change every now and again.

"What about sound torture?" Steve asked with a grin as they stepped into the lobby of the Imperial Palace and headed down the usual path to their very familiar office space.

"Wouldn't sound torture, torture us as well?" Danny asked skeptically.

"No, because we'd be prepared," Steve smiled, "we'd get the industrial strength head sets from the shooting range…"

"Skillfully acquired?"

"No, we're outright steel them," Steve laughed, "and we'd wear those while playing incredibly annoying children's songs to our suspects. You have access to that kind of stuff don't you?"

"Grace is eight, she doesn't watch those shows anymore," Danny stated.

"But at one time she did!" Steve countered.

"True, but what good would it be?" he asked.

"It would make them talk," Steve stated as he sauntered down the hallway.

"Or their ears would start to bleed," Danny joked.

"In which case their brains may explode," Steve added thoughtfully.

"And then you'd be on the hook for Murder, again!" Danny howled.

"Ok it's not a good idea!" Steve laughed, "Maybe we could just have you nag them to death."

"One, I don't nag and two, again we're be on the hook for murder!" Danny stated.

"Except it wouldn't be me this time, it would be you, Mr. What do you think your doing Steve? That's not protocol Steve! You can't hang a guy off the roof this isn't Guantanamo Steve!" Steve mocked.

"Whoa," Danny stated all of a sudden serious as he put out his hand to stop his partner in his tracks just outside the Five-O doors.

"What?"

"Who is the intruder in your office?" Danny asked one hand on his weapon, the other still holding Steve back.

Steve's face went white as he eyed the uniformed gentleman who paced just in side his office. "That's the admiral!" Steve whispered as pushed Danny through the doors and into his office, slamming the blinds shut before the Admiral could see them.

"What Admiral?" Danny asked frantically.

"THE Admiral, the one in charge of the SEALs," Steve stated almost as frantic as his partner.

"Oh my God Steve, are you in trouble? Tell me you're not in trouble! What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Steve stated angrily as Danny ranted. "I've been on my best behavior!" he added as he peered out the closed horizontal blinds.

"Then why would he be here?"

"I know why," Steve sighed as his panic faded and something like dread fell over him. "Just stay here ok," he added.

"Steve, seriously what is going on?" Danny asked still frantic.

"Just don't move," Steve stated putting his hands out this time to stop Danny, "stay here and don't do anything. I'll handle it." He added and left Danny alone.

"Those are you famous last words," Danny hissed as he punched at the air and then turned his attention back to his fleeing partner.

5-0

Danny watched as Steve straightened up, squared his shoulders and took a deep breath as the door to Danny's office closed behind him. Then he marched, literally marched, across the hall, took another deep breath and opened his office door. The Admiral smiled, Steve saluted and then there was a hug. For a moment the hug sent relief through Danny's body, but as Steve turned once more and glanced out the open blinds knowing Danny was watching, there was no ease in his face. Danny saw incredible panic in the calm eyes of his partner as he caught a glimpse across the office space. Danny motioned to ask the question, the 'do you need back up?' question that the partners could ask each other without a word. In reply Steve shook his head and lowered his eyes, and went back to talking to the Admiral as if it were business as usual. Danny sighed knowing that once again life for Five-O had just changed dramatically.

5-0

"So the rumors are true," The Four Star Admiral stated as he broke away from the embrace and looked Steve up and down; his eyes falling to the badge at Steve's hip. "Steven J. McGarrett is a civilian!" the Admiral laughed.

Steve smiled, "my team would beg to differ," he said and motioned to his commanding officer to take a seat in the plush chair before the desk.

"I've heard only good things from Lieutenant Commander White. He seems to think you've got a very good things going on right here," Admiral Winchester smiled as he looked around the naval themed office and his eyes fell on the photos of Steve's father, the American flag and a display of Steve's medals and commendation. "I've been told they are good loyal people but they aren't the SEALs."

"Oh no, they are far from the SEALs," Steve admitted, "but they are the very best of the best."

"Then they can handle themselves, I suppose?" Winchester asked.

There it was, Steve's heart sank into the pit of his stomach, the terrible truth had been laid out and his finely tuned Detective skills would have made Danny proud. He knew, in that moment, that his suspicions had been correct. The chit chat was a rouse to make things seem like less then they were.

"Yes, they can hand themselves," Steve sighed.

"You know why I've come."

Steve lowered his eyes, "I knew the moment I saw you sir. Why else would a Four Star come to the Cop Shop on a Friday afternoon?" Steve asked as his eyes fell instinctively on the photograph of his Ohana that had been placed in the place of honor on his desk by the grace of a little angel.

"Your country needs you Sailor. We need you, your crew and your expertise." The Admiral stated as he stood and began pacing. "We've already rounded up your men. Now all we need is a leader."

"Why me?" Steve asked.

"You don't want the adventure, the thrill of the chase, the knowledge that you are a hero of the United States of America?" Winchester asked.

"No, I don't, I'm already all those things here in Hawaii, with my team. We are protecting the people and doing what is right, here on American soil." Steve admitted, "I have work to do. I'm not finished this mission."

"You have the best of the best to work in your place," Winchester stated, quoting Steve.

"And you have every last SEAL at you beck and call." Steve argued, "why me?" he asked again.

"This mission is of a delicate nature. You've got experience in theses types of confrontations. Terrorists fear you, you have a reputation son. We are certain that you will succeed."

Steve sighed and lowered his eyes again, "where am I going?" he asked.

"You're accepting?"

"I don't have a choice do I?" Steve asked. "You have the official documents from the commander and chief in your uniform pocket. Even if I refused I would be forced to go by order of he who runs this country."

"Well done Detective," Winchester smiled maliciously.

"Where am I going and for how long?" Steve demanded.

"Kabul until the mission is complete."

"How long do I have before I leave?" Steve asked.

"We want you on the next ship out."

"When is that?"

"This time next Friday."

5-0

Danny watched again as Steve stood, meekly this time and saluted before the admiral turned on his heals and marched out; nodding to Danny as he walked past and out of the Five-O office.

Then Steve fell into his chair, his shoulders hunched, and his head rested in his hands, and Danny could swear he was shaking.

"What the hell happened, what kind of trouble are you in?" Danny asked as he rushed across the hall and threw open Steve's door. There was anger, a rant, in every move that Danny made.

Steve looked up and Danny saw something he'd never seen before in his partner's eyes. It was more then sorrow and fear, more like heart ache and regret, dread and anxiety, Steve McGarrett was unsure and being forced to do something he didn't want to do. It was an emotional stated that even Danny couldn't describe and his eyes spoke more in silence then Danny was certain Steve could ever express.

"What happened?" Danny asked fearfully as he fell into the chair that had previously been occupied by the Admiral.

"I'm being deployed," Steve stated without conviction as he covered his face again.

"You can't be," Danny gasped.

"It's an order, I have to go."


	2. Denial

**A/N: Hey Everyone!**

**So, I was planning to make this a birthday present for Qweb, then I worked on it, cried a little and felt like it was way too sad for a birthday present… So instead, I say Happy Birthday Qweb, but maybe you should read this tomorrow. **

**To everyone else, if it's also your birthday, Happy Birthday! Beware of the sadness that is this story! Look away and find something happier!**

**I've kinda changed my mind about this story. It's really only going to focus on the 4 main Five-O's. No one else! Some people may make little appearances, but this is all about Danny, Chin, Kono and Steve and how they are going to deal with the separation. Like in the stages of Death, they are in Denial, all of them, right now.**

**As always I own nothing.**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 2: Denial

Kono walked into the office in time to see the shock register on Danny's face. She could tell that there was an argument brewing and then it just died and so did something else as she caught Steve's eye, momentarily, and he looked away. She hesitated a moment as Danny ran his hands through his hair, without speaking, a shocked silence taking hold of the usually flamboyant Jerseyan.

"What's going on?" she asked as she cautiously opened the office door and stepped into the awkward silence.

A look like lightning flashed between the partners as Danny stood and started to pace.

"I'm being deployed," Steve said calmly.

"He is going to abandon us!" Danny stated angrily.

"No, I'm being deployed as we've all known was possible. I'm in the reserves, I have a certain skill set that is useful and I'm being ordered back to active duty! It's not my fault!"

"In civilian terms, Steven is leaving us." Danny yelled as he looked at Kono. "He's abandoning his family, his friends, and his future to go and fight in some god forsaken war."

"When," Kono gasped as she fell into the chair formerly occupied by the admiral.

"A week today," Steve said softly to the woman who was clearly shaken by the news as fear covered her face.

"What?" Danny yelled. "That soon?"

Steve caught the anger in Danny's eyes and fell silent.

"You've been given a week to put life on hold?" Danny growled angrily, "that's just great. Just go then!"

"I've been deployed before with much less notice. I took Five-O on within two days of being back in Hawaii with every intention, prior to that, to returning to my unit in Korea." Steve said in the form of an answer.

"This is different!" Danny yelled hurt and anger in his every move.

"How," Steve yelled back, "How is it any different then me giving up my career with the Navy to stay here?"

"You never gave it up!" Danny hissed viciously letting his hurt come out. "You've always just been waiting for a reason to go. You never really wanted to be here."

"That's not true!" Steve yelled in retort.

"Then why didn't you fight to stay?"

"Because I have no choice!"

A barely suppressed sob caused both men to stop and turn all their angry attention to the young woman who had gone virtually unnoticed until that moment, "please, you two can't fight, not like this and for this reason. We're all going to be hurt by this. There is no point in taking it out on Steve, Danny. It's not his fault." She whispered through her tears. "But you have every right to be angry."

"Kono are you crying?" Steve asked in shock.

Danny rushed to take the seat beside her as silence fell.

"What is so important that they need to take you away from us?" Kono asked her eyes read with tears.

"I don't have any particulars about my mission," Steve said as he stood and came around the desk and knelt down beside her, "but I've been told that I have the expertise that they need, meaning, I've worked a similar mission before." He said calmly.

"How dangerous?" Kono asked as she looked him in the eyes.

"Very," Steve admitted.

"How long will you be gone?"

"As long as it takes."

"I don't want you to go Steve," Kono sobbed as she fell forward.

"I don't want to go Kono," Steve sighed as he held her and Danny reached out and rubbed her back to have some form of contact in the terribly draining situation, his eyes red with unshed tears as he caught Steve's glance.

"Don't look at me like that," Danny hissed.

"I'm sorry Danny," Steve whispered.

"I know." He answered and stood.

5-0

Chin walked into the Five-O bullpen to see only Danny pacing in Steve's office. He was running his hands through his hair nervously and constantly looking back to something that was just out of sight. As he came closer, Chin's heart stopped. He saw his cousin, the young woman who had proved her self to be one of the toughest, well prepared and vigilant cops he had ever known, sobbing in the arms of their commanding officer.

"What happened, Kono?" Chin asked fearfully as he rushed into the office.

"Steve's gotten news," Danny sighed stopping Chin in his tracks.

"What kind of new? Who else is dead?" Chin asked his face white.

"No one is dead. It's not about any of our cases, or Wo Fat, it's fate." Steve said as he looked up at his elder.

"Not again," Chin sighed. "It killed your father to know you were being deployed into such hostile environments, please tell me it's not that."

"He leaves in a week," Kono sobbed.

"Wow," Chin sighed and fell onto the couch in the corner.

"Guys, we all knew this could happen," Steve said seeing the worry and the pain in the faces of all of his team members; his heart breaking and his reserve faltering to see them like this.

"That doesn't make it any easier," Chin said.

Kono sat back on her knees, biting her lip to try and get her emotions under control as she pushed herself away from Steve. "You promise me you'll come back."

"Of course I'll come back," Steve tried to smile but he saw the fear in her eyes. "I've always been ok."

"You could die Steve," Danny stated as he continued his pacing. "And we won't be there to back you up. We won't have contact with you every day. You won't have access to all of our recourses. You'll be alone. You can't convince us that everything is going to be ok."

"I'll be fine," Steve said as he stood, walked around his desk and sat down, as Danny help Kono to her feet and led her to the couch in the corner where her cousin had fallen and remained in a state of shock.

"I've been through this before. It will go quickly and I'll be back in no time to have you rant about my Neanderthal behavior," Steve stated and pointed at Danny.

"Don't, please, don't try to make light out of this situation. It's devastating Steve, can we please just be upset for a minute." Kono asked her eyes watering still, "I just can't believe this. I don't want to believe this. Tell me it's all a lie." She pleaded.

"I'm sorry Kono."

"Being a cop is one thing, it runs in the family and you live in fear for them every day, but this? This is so much worse then that." Kono sobbed as Chin wrapped his arm around her. "How will we know? Do we sit here and just wait? Will men in uniforms show up to our doors and give us the worst news in the world. Or, will we be left in the dark, no news, no ties to you at all? Is this going to be so secret that for months you'll be a ghost? Are we supposed to just forget about you and pretend like nothing is missing? A part of us will be missing. I can already feel the void. You are our brother Steve; we are allowed to be scared for you, to worry about you and to miss you. How are we supposed to go on? How are we not supposed to fear the worst every single day?"

Danny ran his hands through his hair once more and then sat down on the couch as well, on the other side of Kono and linked his arm around her shoulder just as Chin had done. "I completely know the feeling," Danny whispered into her ear as he rested his head on her shoulder and Chin did the same.

"Who is going to lead us?" Chin asked. "How do we carry on as Five-O without the one who brought us together in the first place?"

"Will we be distracted the whole time thinking about you and praying for you because that's all we can do?" Kono asked.

"What if you don't come back?" Danny posed the last and most poignant question.

"You guys have to be strong. You have to keep on going with what we do; for my sake and the people of our islands. You have to fight the fight at home. Believe me; this isn't as easy as it may look. I don't want to go. I'm scared and I miss you already. I'll think of you every day and worry that you'll get hurt without me, even though I know you're the best I've ever known. I want to be here with you, but this is the reality of my choices." Steve said as he stood again and came to stand before the three of them. "I've never had to say good bye like this before. I've never had a family like I do now and it's hard."

"It sucks," Kono stated tearfully.

"Yeah," Steve sighed and felt his own emotion suddenly get the better of him.

The three other members of his team stood in that moment and wrapped their arms around him, in a four way hug, as silence fell between them. I was going to be very hard.


	3. Regret

**A/N: Aloha dear readers! Sorry it's been taking so long for this update. I've been in a funk and I just couldn't bring myself to write. But I kicked my own butt and here is chapter three. **

**To all of you who feel that Steve has been too OC or out of character for a man of the service, that is your opinion and I respect it, but I don't feel that way. I feel that Steve has gained more humanity then that being with Danny and the team. My interpretation isn't that Steve is worried about Steve, he's worried about the family, and rightfully so if you can read my mind and know what's going to go down while Steve is away. So that's my justification, Danny has broken down walls and I am exploring that avenue. Let this be a warning. Steve is pretty emotional in the end of this chapter as well. Hell, he should show emotion when there is a child forcing him to be honest!**

**As always, I own nothing…they belong to CBS and if I did own them this season would be better! (That is my only jab at this season; I'll let it drop now!)**

**P.S: If this story is getting to depressing for anyone, as it is pretty emotional, I suggest heading over and reading my Big Bang Theory, Hawaii Five-O cross _over The Hawaii Sunscreen Algorithm_. It has a whole lot of geeky goodness without all the emotional strains! (Shameless plug)**

**Anyway, Love you all. Thanks for reading. Enjoy Chapter three! Bye!**

Chapter 3: Regrets

The embrace ended when the alarm on Danny's phone chimed. He hesitated a moment, catching the sadness in Kono's eyes and feeling true sympathy for the poor woman, before he pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the reminder that flashed before him.

"I gotta go," he sighed as he broke away from his friends and caught the lingering uncertainty in all their eyes.

"I'll come with you!" Steve said and held out his hand for the keys.

"No," Danny said and walked out leaving his partner behind.

"Hey what is with you?" Steve asked angrily as he stormed out of his office.

"Your face is going to tip Grace off," Danny stated as he turned to face the SEAL. "think about it Steve, she's nine, she's never had to deal with the 'war' talk before and she screamed for three days when Rachel told her she was moving to Hawaii and I wasn't. How do you think she's going to take this?" he asked.

"So are our plans for the weekend canceled then?" Steve asked sadly as he resigned himself to what Danny had said and agreed that it would be a bit much for a nine year old if adults were reacting the way they had. "I mean will I get to see her before I go?" he asked.

"No our plans aren't cancel, I wouldn't do that to you," Danny said softly, "let me talk to Grace first and see if I can't soften the blow a little. Then you can come by and get us later." Danny answered and turned to leave once more. "Just give me a little time to wrap my head around this whole thing."

"Alright," Steve sighed and turned back to the cousins who had not left his office.

5-0

Danny pulled up to the school just as the bells were ringing. He parked the car and made his way back down the street watching the people around him cautiously. It wasn't that he was suspicious of these people, ok he was, but he'd learned in his time with Steve not to trust the mundane, and yet it was the mundane that was comfortable and safe. Most of the people that milled about were the usual suspects; parents, teachers, the odd family pet in the back seat of an air conditioned Bentley. Danny saw the familiar in it but at the same time it had all changed. There was a static uncertainty in the way things moved around him and his mind wandered away from the coming joy of seeing his child to the bad news he would soon impart. His thoughts wandered back to the idea of Steve leaving, and how he would have to share this with Grace, and he began to dread the encounter. Danny knew that there would soon be a huge fight between him and Rachel. She would be angry that he had not told her first, and he would be angry that Rachel would even think of keeping something so important from their child. Grace loved Steve, there was no question about it, and he had become as close as a blood relative. She was going to be devastated. Danny knew that Grace wasn't going to take the news well, she was young and didn't really understand what war really meant, and she's be heart broken to know that Steve was going away for a time and may not come back.

The sweet chirp of his title pulled Danny out of his thoughts as he looked up and smiled at the child that sprinted toward him.

"Hey Monkey," he stated happily as he scooped her into hi arms, "man what do you have in that back pack, a ton of bricks?" he laughed.

"A ton of homework," Grace sighed.

"Oh I hate homework," Danny mimicked his daughter's discontent.

"But it has to get done," Grace said with a tone of responsibility.

"That it does, so the sooner we get home, the sooner we can tackle it and then have fun the whole rest of the weekend!" Danny smiled.

"Is that why uncle isn't with you?" Grace frowned as she spotted the Camaro and was disappointed that Steve wasn't in the driver's seat. "You said he'd be here," she added and looked suspiciously at her father.

"He had some stuff to do before tonight."

"Why are you lying to me?" Grace sighed reading her father like a book.

"I'm not," Danny sighed and tossed Grace's back pack in the back seat, "we'll talk about it when we get home."

"So its bad news then," Grace stated and watched her father suspiciously.

"When did you get so intuitive?" Danny asked as he pulled away from the school and as he tried to change the subject.

"It's always something bad if you or mommy say we'll talk at home," Grace answered. "It means you think it's going to make me cry so you want to be somewhere familiar, but really it just makes me worry more."

Danny tried to think back on all the times he'd used those same words on his daughter, or that his parents had used them on him and he realized that it had always had negative connotations.

"You're right," He sighed.

"So it is bad?" Grace asked fearfully. "What happened to Uncle Steve? Is he sick? Is he in the hospital? Did someone else die? Are Kono and Chin ok?"

"We're all ok," Danny said calmly, "No one is hurt or sick. You don't need to worry about that. You'll still see them all tonight. Steve's still having dinner at his place and there is still going to be a fire tonight, don't worry."

"If everything is fine, then why do we have to have a 'talk' at home? Why can't you just tell me now?" she asked as Danny kept his eyes on the road.

"Because, it is going to make you cry Monkey." Danny answered honestly and silence fell in the car.

5-0

Danny's resolves to talk to his daughter failed as they pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex and she began to look at him suspiciously once more.

"Alright, let's get this homework started," Danny stated as he pulled the back pack out of the back seat.

"What about our talk?" Grace asked fearfully.

"I don't think you'll get your work done if we talk just yet," he answered and sat her down on one of the stools that looked over the counter into the kitchen.

"Is it really bad?" Grace asked as she grabbed her father's arm.

"Steve is going away," Danny said softly.

"Like on Vacation?" Grace asked confusion on her tone.

"No, for work."

"Are you going too?" Grace asked sadly.

"No, it's not the same work he does here."

"He's leaving to rejoin the navy?" she asked in shock, "doesn't he like us anymore?"

"He never left the navy, babe, he's in the reserves and so if they need him he has to go," Danny answered as vaguely as he possibly could.

"Uncle Steve is going to war?" Grace asked with tears in her eyes.

"Yes," Danny answered.

"But he'll come back right?" She asked the panic rising in her voice.

"He says he will," Danny forced a smiled, "he's our super SEAL, he'll be fine."

Danny watched as questions appeared in his daughters sad eyes but she couldn't form them into words and so she turned to her homework and fell silent. Danny sighed to himself, he knew the questions she was thinking of but couldn't ask them himself. Danny Williams had never dealt with war. H was a civilian, had never had a desire to fight, in fact he probably would have protested it in his youth had he not been so preoccupied with sports and family. Fighting the fight at home had always been Danny's priority, but he had respect for the men and women who chose to fight; how could he not with Steve McGarrett as a partner? But, at the same time, Danny didn't know how to deal with the ideas and the questions that had now come into his thoughts. There wasn't a manual or a website to tell you how to feel if a friend, as good as a brother, was going off to war. There wasn't a hand book to get you through the days or how to explain it to those who might not understand. Danny too fell silent going through the motions of doing the dishes and tidying up the apartment because he just didn't know what else to do.

"Daddy?" the question was almost a whisper at his back but it caught his attention right away.

"Yes Monkey?"

"When Uncle leaves can I be there to say good bye?" she asked her eyes full of tears.

"He leaves on a school day, but I'll ask your mother if it's ok."

"I want to be there. It might be the last time I ever get to see him," she said and started to sob.

"I know. We all are going to be there." Danny sighed and took his little girl into his arms.

5-0

Steve walked into Danny's apartment, without knocking and trying to be as cheerful as possible, knowing that Grace would be there. He caught his partner's eyes right away and there was warning in them, but Grace had looked up from her homework and smiled, and his heart leapt to see that smile.

"What cha doing Gracie?" Steve asked as he looked at all the crafting supplies on Danny's kitchen counter.

"Homework," Grace answered as she looked up at her Uncle Steve, a pair of scissors and a piece of bright blue construction paper in her hand.

"What for, art class?" Steve asked.

"I had to write a poem, and then I had to make it pretty," Grace stated and lowered her eyes to the paper again.

"I think it's looking great," Steve smiled.

"Alright, keep up the good work Grace," Danny stated agitation in his movements, "Uncle Steve and I are just going to step outside for a second and we'll be right back, ok? If you need me, I'll just be out front."

"Sure," Grace smiled and Danny ushered Steve toward the door.

5-0

"So did you tell her?" Steve asked as Danny started to pace, the words that he wanted to spew out everywhere were somewhere lost in translations.

"I told her you were going away," Danny answered, still pacing, "she put it together pretty quickly but she's scared Steve, hell, I'm scared. How do I prepare her for the worst, but still give her hope?"

"Don't prepare her for the worst!" Steve stated nearly frantic himself. "Come on Danny, please stop pacing, you're not making this any easier."

"It's not supposed to be easy Steve!" Danny practically yelled. "What am I going to tell the Team? What am I going to tell Grace? How am I going to put it into perspective that you are going off to fight and that you might not come back? How do I explain that I can't go with you to cover your back? She expects me to be there for you because I'm your partner, but she doesn't understand war."

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Steve asked.

"You're going to break her heart," Danny sighed and sat down on the little step and buried his face in his hands.

"I'll come back," Steve said as he sat down beside his partner.

"You can't be sure. You can't make a promise like that to a nine year old and then break it because it's out of your hands." Danny said. "You can't make that kind of a promise to me, or your team, your Ohana, and expect us to live on as if you were on vacation. What if you die on this mission Steve, what then, have you thought about that?"

"We could die on duty every day," Steve sighed.

"Yeah, but at least we're here." Danny ran his hands through his hair again. "How do we take care of each other when you're halfway around the world?"

"You do what you have to do here, you keep everything running smoothly, I'll be able to have some contact but I won't be involved in the cases. The time will fly, I'll come back and I won't believe how much things have changed, even though you'll tell me they haven't. You have to be strong. You have to be a leader now."

"I don't want to be a leader, Steve, I want to be a part of a team," Danny sighed.

"Every team needs a leader."

"You got big boots to fill, Steven, and I hate boots. I prefer loafers," Danny joked sadly.

"I'll buy a pair when I get back," Steve laughed and wrapped an arm around Danny.

"Seriously though, what about your house, you stuff? What do I do if the worst should happen? Who do I go to?" Danny asked sadly.

"I have everything taken care of. I have a living will, Danny and everything is planned in the event that something should happen." Steve said and looked at his hands. "Everything I have is split between you and my sister; the house, the car, its all yours. What I have, money wise, I want used for Grace's education. I want you to be taken care of and I want you to take care of Mary if anything happens. Go to her first."

"How long have you had this set up?" Danny asked in shock.

"Almost the first day," Steve laughed, "it was kinda a kick in the face when I got you shot on the first day. It kinda put the thought of my own mortality into my head and shortly after that, the whole escapade with Mary freaked me out, and I contacted a lawyer. After the governor, being in jail, the possibility that this whole Wo Fat thing might mean my ends, it all kinda puts life into perspective. I love you like a brother, Danno. You, Mary, the team, you're all I have and Grace is the future, its my job to take care of you guys and its your job to do the same, here at home."

"You have to come back," Danny stated after a long moment of silence.

"I'll try," Steve said sadly.

The door opened.

"Here Uncle Steve," Grace said as she handed Steve a paper heart, tears in her eyes, she'd been listening at the door.

"Come here," Steve stated as Grace fell into his arms, "I'm sorry." He whispered tears in his own eyes.

"You have to come back," Grace sobbed, echoing her father's sentiments.

"I'm going to try my best." Steve whispered.

"Why do you have to go?" She asked as she looked into his dark eyes.

"Because it's my job, because I signed up to protect my country and you, because it's the right thing to do, for the good of our country and the freedom that we are so lucky to live by," Steve said as he watched the sadness and the understanding come and go from her eyes.

"What if you are killed?" she asked.

"Then I'll die for what is right," Steve answered.

"Do you regret making this choice?" she asked more seriously now.

"No," Steve answered honestly, "I've never regretted the choices I've made to fight for this country. But I do regret hurting my family and putting them through this terrible ordeal."

"Don't," Grace said as tears rolled down her cheeks, "don't regret it Uncle Steve, I'm very proud to have you as an Uncle. You are a hero and I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too Monkey," Steve sighed and held the child in his arms as silence fell between the three of them.


	4. Someone In Your Corner

**A/N: Hello everyone, sorry this took so long. It has been really hard to focus on writing lately, for personal reasons. I just couldn't concentrate, but here is a short update. Hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter 4: Someone in Your Corner

The silence between Steve and Danny lasted as long as they listened to Grace cry out her sorrow. She remained in Steve's arms and he just held her, not really knowing what to say until she hiccupped and sniffed and looked into his eyes with her red tear stained ones. He had never seen that kind of sorrow before, and he had seen so much in all the years he had fought, but there in the eyes of someone he knew loved him as innocently and as dearly as this child, he knew he had come to be one of the luckiest men in the world. It was for this little innocent life that he clung to so desperately in her sorrow that he was truly fighting for; to protect her and her future. Someday, she would truly understand, but for now Steve knew she just needed to be sad.

"Are you going to be ok?" Steve asked softly as he brushed the loose strands of hair out of her weary face.

Grace nodded gently.

"Are you?" Danny asked eyeing his partner with understanding and a calmness that usually didn't become Danny Williams.

Danny knew in that moment that everything that he had been trying to get out, to verbalize in his own worried state, was said in silence because Steve knew how much he was loved by the family that had grown around him.

"Yeah," Steve answered.

"You know it's only human to react this way," Danny said, to both Steve and Grace, as Grace rubbed her eyes and moved toward her father. As she fell into his arms, Danny's eyes met Steve's once again. "Its ok to be sad, Gracie, and its ok to cry because we are sad, and we're worried about Steve and where he's going, but we also have to believe in the good that he's doing, in the protection that he's giving our country and the braveness that he is showing by going away from everything he loves here in Hawaii."

Grace nodded her agreement.

Steve smiled wearily.

"He is a hero, you know, and we're so lucky to have him."

"I know," Grace whispered.

"Now we have a new job, a very important job, and that is to make this last week for Steve one of the happiest times of his life." Danny said as he kissed the top of his daughters head.

Grace sniffed again and then resolved came into her face, "I like that idea," she said and forced herself to smile. "This is going to be the best weekend ever, Uncle Steve!" she added as she stood before him.

"How so?" Steve asked with amusement.

"We're going to spend it together as a family!" She stated, "Because you need a family at a time like this."

Steve smiled

"Go inside babe, wash your face and change out of your uniform, and then we'll get this weekend started." Danny said as he pecked his daughter on the cheek and she nodded in agreement.

"Ok," Grace smiled and disappeared back into the apartment.

"I'm sorry Danny," Steve sighed as Grace disappeared.

"I don't want you to be sorry anymore," Danny said as he stood. "This isn't your fault; it's out of your hands. It's time to just be together and be thankful for the time we do have."

"Thank you."

"Come on you goof, lets get this show on the road!" Danny said calmly as he led the way back inside.

5-0

"So what are your plans for tomorrow?" Steve asked as he stood at his kitchen counter, all the fixings for a barbeque before him, as Danny settled Grace at the kitchen table with rest of her homework. Steve was trying, as desperately as he could, to achieve a sense of normalcy for the remainder of his time, if you could call Steve's life normal.

"Church," Danny answered nonchalantly as he filled out spelling flash cards for his daughter.

"On a Saturday?" Steve asked in confusion.

"Saturday is as good a day as any to go to church," Danny laughed.

"I have catechism tomorrow morning," Grace smiled, "it's the only time the church we found, that we liked, offers it."

"You shopped around for a church?" Steve asked amused by the idea.

"Of course! You can't be close to God, if you don't like his house!" Grace stated as if it were the most common knowledge in the world.

"And Danno actually found one he liked?" Steve asked remembering the ordeal with shopping for a new apartment.

"Oh yeah, this one is fun. There is lots of music, hula and lots of respect for the Hawaiian culture," Steve shot a look of skepticism at Danny, "and the teachers for Catechism are really nice and know a lot." Grace explained, "And there are lots of people there that we have made friends will."

"That sounds very nice." Steve laughed.

"Can you spell Catechism?" Danny asked trying to pull his daughter back to her homework.

"C-A-T-E-C-H-I-S-M," Grace stated proudly.

"Correct."

"Gold Star."

"Uncle Steve that was hardly gold star worthy!" Grace giggled.

"There you are mistaken," Steve smiled, "you are always gold star worthy!" he added and ducked into the fridge to dodge the sappy look that crossed Danny's face.

"Why don't you come with us to church and you can judge for yourself if you like it or not," Grace said innocently, "then after we can go for breakfast? Danno and I normally do, we get waffles!"

"And then we can spend the rest of the day together if you're not busy," Danny added with a smile.

"I'm not much of the church going type," Steve answered awkwardly.

"Neither was I, until my parents insisted that Grace be brought up in the faith and as much as I protest, it was how I was brought up. Now, with you as my partner, I find it detrimental to my health to at least feel like there is something out there working in my corner, if not that, at least I have someone to complain to about your crazy behaviour."

Steve laughed out lout at his partner's honesty. "I guess I could try it out," he added.

"One hour won't kill you," Danny smiled. "Maybe Grace should have mentioned it's a good short service too, and that's why we like it."

"What if I walk in and the place bursts into flames?" Steve joked.

Grace laughed.

"If that should occur then my theory will have been correct. In which case, there will be a priest present to exercise out all of your demons!" Danny said casually as he tossed another card onto the table and looked over his shoulder at Steve teasingly.

"You think I'm possessed?" Steve laughed.

"There has to be some underlying factor to your insanity."

"Its called Navy training Danno," Grace shot in with a giggle.

"You're gonna get in on this too?" Steve asked with amusement. "It went from 'Steve's a hero', to 'Let's bash Steve today!'"

"That's my girl," Danny smiled and high fived his daughter, "besides, it's about time we tried to lighten the mood around here." He added as he finished the last of his flash cards. "There Gracie, I'm done, no more homework and we'll quiz with the flash cards before bed!"

"Awesome!" Grace stated and jumped up from her seat at the table, "its time for fun now!" she added as she pushed her work off the table and into her pack.

"Do you wanna carry this for me out to the barbeque?" Steve asked and held out a plate full of vegetables ready for grilling.

"Yep!" Grace smiled and took the plate and headed for the door.

"I'm glad you're in my corner, partner," Steve smiled as a soft knocking was heard at his front door.

"Yeah, yeah, company's here, I'll get it!" Danny smirked and moved to answer the door as Steve followed Grace out the back.

**A/N: Alright, just a little public service announcement. I was given some advice lately and I think it was really good advice. Because of the issues I am having in my personal life, if family illness and uncertainty, I've decided to put this story aside for a while, at least until things settle down, then I will try and get back into it, but for now its just too dark and sad and really hard to write. I'm sorry, I will eventually finish it, but for now, I need to try and bring some light heartedness into my rather dark life. Sorry.**


	5. Making a Memory and a Promise

**A/N: Hello everyone. I want to thank you all for all the warm comments. It really meant a lot while things were so dark in my life. It really hasn't gotten much better at this point, but there is an optimism with all of us that will hopefully bring my family through this hard time. That being said, this chapter just came to me one day and I had to get it written. I know I said I was going to take a break from it, but a burst of optimism make this possible. I hope you like it and I will update again when I can. Thank you for reading and thanks to everyone who posted their concerns and well wishes! You guys are the best!**

**As always I own nothing!**

Chapter 5: Making a Memory and a Promise

Danny opened the door to see Kono, and Kono alone, standing before him. She was dressed as he had not seen her before, her weapon was gone, her hair was curled and she wore a sundress that bore a Hawaiian print but, even for Danny, it wasn't too over the top. But it wasn't Kono's attire or lack of the things that made her Kono, in Danny's eyes, that had caught his attention and spurred on his concern, but rather the obvious worry that was still present in her eyes.

"Are you going to be ok?" Danny asked as he reached out and hugged her.

"I feel like I'm going to a funeral," Kono sighed as she fought back the emotions that were threatening the edges of her eyes again.

"He's here now, we'll all be together for tonight and we have to hold each other up once he's gone." Danny said softly. "I'm here and so is Chin. We'll get through this together, we have to for Steve."

"You're right," Kono said as she straightened up and tried to put on a happy face, "how do I look?" she asked.

"Like a girl, ew!" Danny teased, "it doesn't suit you Kono!" he added and jumped to escape the backhand that flew in his direction, "what's in the case?" he asked as he eyed the black carrying case that Kono had strung over her shoulder.

"It's my camera!" Kono laughed as Danny shot her a skeptical look. "What, a girl can't have a hobby Danny!"

"You have a hobby, its surfing!" Danny laughed.

"No, surfing is a way of life, being a cop is my career and photography is my hobby."

"So that's why your crime scene photos always look so good! Work it girl!" he teased.

Kono rolled her eyes and followed Danny through Steve's place and out toward the back yard. They arrived in time to see Steve and Grace walking bare foot along the water's edge, Grace holding tightly to Steve's hand and before anything could register, the soft click of Kono's camera captured the moment.

"You know, he needs to find someone and settle down," Danny sighed as he leaned on the door frame.

Kono captured Danny's calm, contemplative moment before he could protest.

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"I'm a father; I know how it changes people. We know how he is with my Grace; could you imagine what Super SEAL would be like with his own children?"

"I think he'd be more scared of a new born infant in his arms then anything he'd ever see in combat."

"Gimme that!" Danny smiled, took the camera and snapped a shot of Kono, "what, a guy can't have a hobby?" he asked with a wink. "And you are right, but he'd only be terrified for a second until he became over protective, then he'd melt into a puddle and nothing and no one would ever come anywhere close to that baby. It just kinda happens that way when that little life breaks down every wall you've ever tried to construct."

"Steve does need to settle down and leave his navel life behind." Kono sighed. "It's time for a new Keakonu."

"Season, right?" Danny asked.

"You've got it!" Kono laughed. "You're well on your way to learning the language, good job! I guess you aren't a complete lost cause after all."

"Don't tell Steve that!" Danny smiled and snapped another shot of Steve and Grace as they turned from the water and just happened to look up to catch Danny in the act.

"Whose idea was that?" Steve asked as he shook his head but smiled all the same for a more posed picture with Grace.

"Kono has a hobby," Danny stated and handed the camera back to Kono.

"Everyone needs one!" Steve laughed.

5-0

After lighting the barbeque Steve noticed the uncomfortable silence that had come over Grace. She stared off at the ocean, picked at a knot in the patio decking, and was quieter then she usually ever was with Steve. Grace wasn't the most talkative child, but even Steve could tell something was bothering her.

"Well Gracie, the grill has to heat up before we can start. Do you want to walk down the beach with me?" he asked.

"Ok," Grace said, tried to smiled and then fell silent again.

They walked together down to the water, kicked off their shoes just before the sand, in silence, and began the slow contemplative trek along the shoreline. Grace kicked at the loose sand, she didn't look at the shells the way she usually did and didn't seem to see the wonder in anything that she would usually be excited and interest in playing with. Many a day had passed down on this beach, just the two of them, and Grace had always been happy to be there. Steve knew that the little girl at his side was still trying to process the news, still trying to understand why he had to go. He had seen how his team reacted but Steve had never had a child in his life before this. He just wasn't sure how to help. His life had revolved around adults for most of his years, he realized. He had grown up and was forced, early on, to be an adult. After that, children were seen, they were usually around but Steve never had any kind of relationship with a child until he met Danny and ultimately Grace. Now, oddly enough, he couldn't imagine his life without this little girl and watching her grow up. He knew that he had to do something, say something to help you cope; he was her Uncle Steve after all. It was now his job to do things like that.

As he mused he could feel the presence of the little girl and he just let her be sad and quiet until, and this shocked his heart, Grace reached out and took his hand, squeezing it tightly and keeping herself as close as she could get without causing Steve to trip, she sighed and just looked down at the sand before them.

"Do you want to talk?" Steve asked as he turned and looked down at his hand and then into Grace's tearful eyes. She was being very brave, holding back her emotions, but Steve could tell that there was sadness and questions that she wanted answers to.

"How far away are you going?" she asked her voice only a hushed whisper.

"The middle east," Steve answered.

"Have you been there before?"

"Yes."

"Is it nice?"

"Not really, I mean parts of it are nice I guess, but war isn't nice, it's destructive. So no, it's not going to be nice for me." Steve answered honestly.

"When you go away like this is it ever nice?" She asked with worry in her tone.

"Sometimes you have moments when you are really lucky to experience amazing things." Steve smiled. "Or you find people that do appreciate you or need your help and it's worth while for moments like that."

"Are you scared?" Grace asked as she looked up at him once more.

"I'm always scared. It may not seem like it, but life can be very scary." Steve admitted.

"I'm scared too, I mean, I was scared because Danno was going to stay in New Jersey and sometimes I knew about bad things that happened and I though he was the only police out there. But when he came to Hawaii and Five-O started, it was different, like I learned he'd not alone or doing it all by himself. You won't be all alone will you?" she asked.

"Oh no, I'll have a bigger team there then I have here!" Steve smiled.

"All SEALs like you?"

"Mostly yes, and then other units and commanding officers, there will be a lot of us."

"It must be hard for all those people to leave their families too," Grace sighed as her thoughts wandered to other people going through the same thing.

"It is hard," Steve admitted. "I know people who leave their children and wives, there brothers and sisters, and I know it's hard on them but I never understood just how hard until now."

"I'm sorry," Grace sighed, "I don't want to make it hard for you." she said sadly.

"You're not!" Steve smiled as he felt emotions that he had never known before, "it's supposed to be hard because of Aloha. No matter what, I want you to know that you are one of the most important people in my life. You are so special to me and I will miss you so much because we are family. You and me, and Danny and Chin and Kono, we live together in the spirit of aloha."

"I love you too Uncle Steve," Grace smiled, "I want you to come back ok!"

"Danno told me not to promise anything because it's very dangerous, and I'm afraid you won't forgive me if I have to break my promise." Steve sighed.

"Sometimes even Danno can be wrong, and he's wrong now because if you promise then I will pray that you get all the help you can to come back and you'll be conscious of the promise and be extra careful." Grace reasoned.

"But what if I break that promise?" Steve asked.

"It won't be your fault." Grace answered.

"Then, between you and me, Grace, I promise to come back to you because I love you and I have to see you again!" Steve vowed as he squeezed her hand tightly.

"Mahalo Uncle," She smiled up at him with tears in her eyes, as she heard the motions of her father and Kono at the back of Steve's house.

"Looks like we're going to have a party!" Steve smiled as they both turned back toward the house. "The barbeque is probably ready."

"And Kono brought her camera!" Grace smiled.

"Good I need some pictures to take with me; to remember this moment and our talk."

"And our promise," Grace whispered.

"I'll never forget that!" Steve smiled.

"You better not!" Grace stated sounding so much like her father as they both turned and smiled for the camera.

5-0

Chin and Malia walked around the house know that the action would all be out back. They arrived on the scene just in time to see Steve put the meat on the grill.

"Well we're just waiting for Kamekona and Max now!" Danny stated being the first to see the newcomers.

"Hello Mr. and Dr. Kelly." Steve smiled.

"None of that!" Malia giggled.

"Auntie!" Grace stated excitedly and rushed toward Malia as she jumped into her arms.

"All part of the family," Danny stated pleasantly to Steve who smiled at the actions of the little girl.

"We need each other Danno," Steve laughed, "and you thought you wouldn't find that here." He laughed.

"You changed that pretty quick babe!" Danny admitted, "Now you're stuck with me because I don't think I could ever leave."

"You better be here, in one piece, when I get back!" Steve teased.

"I'll be in one piece; I'll be driving myself, in my car!" Danny joked.

"I'm not that bad!" Steve laughed.

"Yes you are!" Kono and Chin stated together.

"From the cousins even!" Danny laughed.

"Ok, maybe I should take the driving course through HPD."

"I will book it for you as soon as you get back!" Danny stated, "You can count on me!"

"I know I can Danno, I know!" Steve smiled.

5-0

Kamekona arrived moments later with Max in tow and bringing a nice round number to the group. Kono's camera flashed for most of the evening, catching moments and memories everywhere she could find them and happiness was with the Ohana that Steve had surrounded himself with.

The evening wore on with serious conversations of restated concerns but guilt and despair were pushed aside for hopefulness no matter where they were. By the end of the first day of knowing what would soon break them apart, the Five-O team seemed to come to peace with the situation, for Steve's sake and they vowed to spend every last available moment together before Steve would have to leave.

For the first time Steve had a support group not of brothers at arms, but of actual brothers and sisters, helpers and confidants. Steve had come to realize his leaving the navy to stay in Hawaii had truly been a blessing among the darkness; Hawaii was home, he would see it again.


	6. One Glorious Weekend

**A/N: The more I write this story, the more I realize its going to be a long one. I have a whole week planned out for the crew before Steve actually leaves and then his whole leave and Danny's acting as leader and bad things will happen and then Steve will come back…what have I gotten myself into? **

**Also, I want to thank everyone for their continued support. You have really been a blessing through this hard time for me and I will tell you thinks are on the mend, the bad isn't completely out of the way, but the first steps to recovery happened yesterday and so things are looking up.**

**I hope that you all have a wonderful Holiday and thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the kind words and thoughts. Hope you enjoy this pre-Christmas update.**

**Enjoy**

Chapter 6: One Glorious Weekend

It was difficult for a man of routine and discipline to let go of his daily functions and Steve McGarrett was no exception. Even with the late night spent in relative joy with his family, Steve was up at the crack of dawn, rising with the sun on the eastern horizon and taking to the water for a reminder of his ever growing connection with the land of his birth. Steve woke himself up this way, with rigorous exercise, ninety percent of the time, and then he'd move on to waking his awkwardly civilian and anti-morning partner. But on this morning, as Steve stood in the kitchen eating the same oatmeal he had every morning after his workout, he heard the oddity of Danny and Grace calling his name from his front door at quarter to eight in the morning.

"It's Saturday, what are you doing awake, Sir Sleep, on a _Saturday_ before noon?" Steve asked jokingly as he spied Danny, tie and all, and the little girl, dressed in a frilly pink sundress and wearing a little floppy hat to match.

"It's almost time for church Uncle!" Grace stated happily, "Go put on your Sunday best and let's get moving!"

"Sunday best? but its Saturday!" Steve laughed as he bent down and looking into Gracie's eyes.

"We go to church on Saturdays!" Grace stated, "Did you forget? You said you'd come with us today." she said sadly as Danny casually slipped something into Steve's hand without Grace seeing.

"I didn't forget," Steve smiled as he straightened up. "I just didn't realize it was this early in the morning, or that I had to dress of the occasion."

"Well you do!" Grace said and pointed up the stairs.

"Give me three minutes!" Steve laughed and ran up the stairs taking them two at a time.

When Steve returned he was wearing a pair of black slacks, his shined dress shoes and a light blue button down paired with a tie that was more suited his partner than it was himself.

"Why are you wearing Danno's 2009 Christmas tie?" Grace asked with a giggle.

"'Cause I don't have one appropriate for church!" Steve stated and straightened the tie with a smile.

"I lent it to Steve," Danny smiled, "but he will give it back because he knows 2009 was one of my favorite years!"

"More than 2010?" Grace asked with a smirk.

"2010 has its own special place," Danny laughed, "That's my first Hawaiian tie!"

"I liked it 'cause it was goofy!" Grace giggled

"You're goofy!"

"But it's not appropriate for church," Grace smiled.

"Not like 2008," Danny stated and motioned to the tie he was wearing.

"That one is my favorite," Steve said as he admired Danny's look and realized it really was more suited the Jerseyan than it was himself.

"Mine too!" Danny laughed, "And I knew it was your favorite because it's the only one you don't hassle me about when I wear it!"

"You look good in a tie Uncle, and now that I know you don't have one of your own, you are getting a 2012 Christmas tie too!" Grace stated proudly.

"What if I'm not back by Christmas?" Steve asked sadly.

"Then we will celebrate when you do get home, with a tree and a turkey and all the trimmings, even if it's in July!" Grace smiled, "I'll make sure you have Christmas, Uncle, I promise!"

"And I'll wear my 2012 Christmas tie all the time," Steve said as he ushered Grace out of the house, "_I_ promise."

Danny just laughed knowing that for one Steven J. McGarrett professional attire would now include the odd neck tie, if only to please a little Williams girl.

5-0

Church was an interesting experience for Steve, in that, it was so Hawaiian that he wondered how Danny had come to like it in the first place. It just wasn't his style at all but he seemed to be engrossed in the service and not really paying attention to much else.

The building itself was small, stuffed to the gills with people and music that was more modern and upbeat than the hymns and anthems of his childhood. The building rested with its foundation nearly in the water and its windows were filled with brilliant glass, reminiscent of a Hawaiian shirt, but most of all the priest, as good as he was, looked more like a surfer than a man of the cloth. It certainly was clear that the people dressed out of style for a Hawaiian Saturday morning and the priest looked like he wanted to throw off his vestments and catch the next wave 'outta there', but the message, one that Steve was not expecting, captured his attention and before Steve knew it, service was over and Danny and Grace were ready to leave once more.

"So what did you think Uncle?" Grace asked as they walked with the rest of the congregation toward the exit.

"Yes, what _did_ you think stranger?" the jolly priest had overhead, noticed and was ready for and answered just like Grace.

"It wasn't what I was expecting," Steve answered honestly.

"Not long enough for you?" the jolly man asked with a teasing glint in his eyes.

"It was the perfect length," Steve laughed, "but nothing like the Navy Chaplains I'm used to listening to."

"Ah, a man of the sea, like me. This must be the infamous SEAL," The priest laughed and winked at Danny.

"Father Joe is not a watcher of television or a follower of gossip, so Five-O is relatively unheard of here." Danny explained as he caught the confusion in Steve's eyes. "And yes this is Steven," he added making a formal and yet informal introduction.

"Steve McGarrett," Steve smiled and reached out to shake Father Joe's hand.

"Nice to finally meet you Steven," The jolly priest smiled. "I'll admit to having met your father, if I am correct in assuming that Jack was the man."

"He was," Steve laughed.

"I'm sorry for you loss, but Hawaii has reclaimed a treasure in having you back."

"Uncle Steve is being deployed again on Friday." Grace stated sadly, "but he promised to come back when his mission was over."

"A heavy promise to make and I understand, now, why the sermon today wasn't quite what you were expected," Joe stated seriously, and yet, light heartedly as well.

"I've heard the scripture enough time, I am in the navy and boats are kind of our thing," Steve laughed, "but I never through about it as something to come back to. I though when Jesus called the people to follow him and leave everything else behind, he literally meant to leave it all."

"Leave all the material things, but hold in your heart the things that are truly important. Jesus came to teach about love, and we love those we leave behind and we know that we will find them again; be it in this life of the next." Joe smiled as Steve nodded his agreement. "It seems like it was a perfect day for you to come to us today Steven."

"I guess it was," Steve smiled.

"And what is to come, in the time that you remain?" Joe asked, more to Grace than to the man before him.

"We're going to make waffles!" Grace stated happily. "And then we're going to spend the whole day together and Uncle Chin and Auntie Malia are coming over too and Auntie Kono and it's going to be just like thanksgiving back in Jersey…only without the snow and a few less people."

"_A lot_ less people," Danny emphasized. "No work, no guns, no violence, just family time." He added with a smile.

"And how do you feel about that Steven?" Joe asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Steve smiled.

"Why don't I believe that?" Danny asked mockingly. "Violence follows you. I wouldn't be surprised if I end up shot, or the house ends up blown to smithereens, or somehow your acquiescence to the idea of a quiet day somehow triggers a tsunami."

"Not today my friend," Steve laughed as he pet Danny's shoulder, "today I'll be playing the role of mild mannered Uncle Steve, for Gracie and our Ohana; Nothing more and nothing less."

"What about you Father Joe, any big plans?" Grace asked.

"What do I do every Saturday Gracie?" the priest asked with a chuckle.

"Surf, hear confessions, surf some more, lunch, surf, and evening mass." Grace stated numbering off the activities on her fingers.

"That's what I'm doing today," He winked flashed the shaka at the last of the stragglers in the church and bowed out.

"Well I don't know about you, but I am starving!" Danny stated as he led the way to the car.

"Waffles!" Grace stated joyfully.

Steve laughed and followed along.

5-0

As was promised, and without any violence, the day passed away smoothly and calmly. Back at Steve's they spent most of their time out back on the beach. The breeze was light, there were plenty of beverages and Grace enjoyed building sand castle and collecting shells to sting together to make leis with whoever came and went. By about noon Kono had arrived with a set of paddle boards and shared them among the group. For lunch, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on a blanket on the lawn made for the perfect family meal and then it was back to the water and the play.

Steve enjoyed the calmness. He liked not thinking about baddies and weapons. He even tried to push Wo Fat as far from his mind as possible, but the lingering though of leaving the people he loved on an island without him and the dangers they had encountered because of him always made him uneasy. But Grace was quick to pull him back to the present, the here and now, and put his mind to work on more pressing issues like how to sting the shells together if they don't have holes in them, or how much dead fall and drift wood would they need for a fire later that night.

As it would happen, the normalcy of having a quiet family life didn't break until the next day, after everyone had left the evening before and Steve wasn't expecting them back before at least noon because Sunday was a day to truly rest, as Danny put it. But, at ten in the morning, a knock at the door announced a stranger at Steve's and he was weighted down with equipment.

"You must be Steve; I'm Polo, Kono's friend from Coral Prince. I'm their photographer." The stranger stated and readjusted his baggage to shake Steve's hand.

"Kono sent you?" Steve asked in confusion.

"Oh yeah brah, didn't you get today's itinerary?" Polo asked.

"No," Steve said.

"Oh, well then, Kono has decided that she wants family portraits done, but she doesn't want formal pictures and she says you have a great, very picturesque, yard that will serve well and is shaded from most of the direct afternoon light." Polo explained.

"Ok," Steve smirked. "I guess you're here to set up because Kono isn't taking the pictures."

"She wants to be in them brothah." Polo laughed.

"Ok, well come on back then," Steve said and led the way out to the back yard.

After depositing Polo in the back yard, with all his equipment, Steve walked back inside just in time to see Danny, Grace, Kono and Max walk into the house, of their own accord.

"Did Polo find the place alright?" Kono asked while Steve just stared at her.

"What are you wearing?" Steve asked instead of answering the question.

"A white blouse and blue jeans," Kono said as if the question were redundant.

"Why?" Steve asked.

"Because that's what I want to wear for the pictures and so everyone is going to follow my dress code because it was my idea!" Kono stated and walked past Steve into the back yard.

"Do I have to wear that too?" Steve asked as he eyed Danny and Max who were dressed in the same fashion with Grace wearing a plain white sundress.

"Yes," Danny smirked. "Jeans, white shirt, bare feet. That's the dress code."

"And don't argue with her, it's a loosing battle. Kono is set on the idea." Max added.

"I like it, I think it will look really nice with all of us together like this," Grace smiled up at Steve.

"Whatever you say munchkin, I'll do it." Steve laughed, "Polo is out back setting up, I'm assuming Malia, Chin and Kamekona are on the way and I'm the only one who needs to change."

"You are correct." Danny nodded.

"Alright, I'll change; you go make sure Polo doesn't plan anything overly corny." Steve stated, "I need to keep my dignity, at least some of it."

"Do you even own a pair of jeans?" Danny teased.

"One pair in there somewhere among the cargo pants!" Steve played along.

"Alright, hurry up!" Danny laughed and walked out of the house, ditching his slippers at the door and walking out into the grass with his daughter and the medical examiner.

When Steve made it back downstairs in his jeans, a white t-shirt under and unbuttoned, button down shirt, he was not giving up his signature look, he found Kono sitting at the table quietly flipping through some pictures all by her self.

"Have Chin and Malia made it yet?" Steve asked breaking the silence.

"Oh yeah, they are here," Kono said as she looked up and smiled.

"So where did the idea for this come from?" he asked as he motioned to the matched attire and the photo shoot that was about to start in his back yard.

"Take a look at this," Kono said and handed over an old, yellowing photograph, and yet in the picture Steve could see the inspiration for the shoot. "I found that yesterday while looking through some old pictures, I didn't remember it. Do you recognize anyone?"

Steve studied the picture carefully. It was of a large group of people, mixed race and happy. On the back it only said Ohana and as he looked at Kono he saw the tears in her eyes that she was trying to suppress. He turned his attention back to the photo and gasped as he did recognize people in that picture.

"That's my mom," Steve said as he leaned over and pointed to the young woman holding a small child in her arms as women of all shapes and sizes sat on blankets with children as men and boys towered above them. "And Mary Ann."

"Yeah, and look, Chin and Malia when he was just a rookie, God, he looked so young there. He was twenty, coming out of the academy and getting ready to be a real cop. They had been high school sweet hearts. Your dad, you, me, my auntie and uncle, do you remember this photo? All before everything fell apart. My Auntie was still healthy. Chin was still part of the family. I was like eight or nine; you were about twelve or thirteen. Do you remember those days? I don't, so many bad things happen that I don't remember knowing you when we were young and yet look at this. It says we were family, just like we are now."

"I don't remember it either," Steve admitted as he stared at the faces and realized that these people, some of them, had really been with him from the very beginning.

"I want Grace to remember and not forget like we did. I want Danny to really feel like part of the Ohana. I want you to have something to take with you that will bring you back to us safely." Kono said with tears in her eyes.

"Don't cry Kono," Steve stated as he tossed the photo onto the table and pulled the young woman into his arms. "Grace will never forget us, and Danny knows he's one of us. And I will come back, I promise."

"You're not mad about me taking over your house for a stupid little family photo are you?" she asked as she wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"No, how could I be?" Steve smiled. "Now you stop that 'cause you're making your face all red and you need to look stunning in these shots!"

Kono laughed away her tears as she pushed out of his arms, "Go on out there and take some shots with your boys before Polo get impatient. I'll just run and touch up my make up and I'll be out there for my shots with the girls, before we reenact that one." She smiled, sniffled and disappeared into Steve's house.

Steeling one last glance at the old photo, Steve did as he was told and exited to the staged back yard and his awaiting Ohana.


	7. Monday to Friday

**A/N: Again this chapter was a hard one to write. I hope now I'll be able to get into the story that I had planned. Much of what has happened so far was only supposed to take a couple of chapters but it all seems so important. Now we really start!**

**Enjoy.**

**As Always I Own Nothing!**

Chapter 7: Monday to Friday

Monday morning came far too quickly for any of the members of Five-O and before anyone could process that it was Steve's last week on the task force for a good many months, the call came in and all the members of the unit headed out to the scene of another senseless crime. It all happened so fast that no one had time to stop and think, there was a job to do and they were on the case.

Monday took them through the preliminary investigations, visits to the coroners office and the crime lab to check out their evidence and then have it all back in the office for Kono and Chin to piece together the case while Steve and Danny headed off to break the bad news to the victims family and get any information they could from the parents of the teenage victim. The victim had a record, juvenile at most, but had gotten himself caught up in drugs and his parents had been doing everything they could to get him out of it. Steve and Danny hated stories like this one and once again they vowed to the parents that their son's death would not be in vain. The Five-O mentality hit them hard and they were determined now to end this drug ring just as they had ended many before.

Tuesday began with a high speed car chase, after Steve pulled the keys from Danny's hands and had taken over the propulsion of the Camaro, and the vehicle Steve was pursuing rolled and landed on its roof. The driver tried to flee but Steve stopped him while Danny attended to the passenger until paramedics arrived. An afternoon interrogation of the drive led Danny and Steve to one of their Hawaiian informants and before dinner Kono and Chin had managed to identify the main players in the drug ring that had knocked off the young man who had turned out to be an undercover rookie cop with the drug unit. The parents, the juvenile record and the age had all been a cover for the cop in questions.

Wednesday saw all the suspects in custody with another large confiscation of illegal narcotics and cash, a press conference with the Governor and an attempt by some random crazy person who tried to storm the stage with a weapon larger than the person could actually carry and without taking into consideration that the majority of the assembled crowd were law enforcement officers, and the moron didn't get very far when Steve took a flying leap off the stage and tacked the guy to the ground.

"I'm so going to miss you!" Danny had stated as Steve looked up from the sand of the beach with nearly one hundred cops, with their weapons drawn, staring down at him and the tackled moron. He smiled proudly.

Thursday brought them one day closer to the dreaded departure. Steve and Danny had arrived at the office at about the same time and had split up to get to work on their wrap up paperwork. By lunch time Kono had walked in after having spent all morning in court. She looked exhausted and on the verge of tears when she rushed into her own office and shut the blinds. Steve had been preoccupied with his paperwork and hadn't noticed, but Danny had and after giving Kono a moment to herself he walked across the office to investigate.

"You ok kiddo?" Danny asked as he opened her door only slightly.

"Yeah," Kono sighed as she looked up at Danny, "it just hit me that tomorrow when we come into work Steve won't be here."

"But we're all going to see him off in the morning," Danny half smiled, "and if his mission is anything like our case this week, it will be over before you know it!"

"I know," Kono sighed. "But its going to be so tough not seeing him everyday. And quiet here in the office with out him."

"We're all going to miss him but it's a fact of life, I guess, when you work with people like Steve." Danny sighed as he sat down in the chair before her desk. "On the bright side, however, I take over as leader starting when we clock out tonight, which means tonight's meal is on me!"

"Thanks Boss," Kono giggled as she dried her eyes, "Does that mean you're going to fly off buildings and tackle bad guys and go all McGarrett on us to find fingerprints with a feather duster and a vacuum bag?" She asked jokingly. "Can I be you then?"

"I'm not going to be a Super SEAL!" Danny scolded with a laugh. "This will all be by the book with the occasional antic like James Bond or Indiana Jones." He joked, "I prefer Doctor Jones. He's so much more bad-ass!"

"Ah, I see," Kono giggled, "to which I will reply with a rant and a flail of my hands asking you 'what the hell are you thinking?'," she joked. "But only after you get chased out of some Hawaiian ruins by a giant bolder and live to tell the tale, only to be apprehended by locals who steal your treasures and try to kill you."

"We'll be fine Kono," Danny laughed.

"Yeah, I'm sure we will be."

By the time Thursday was drawing to a close Steve found himself out with friends and celebrating, all while Danny was footing the bill. Steve had slipped away from the office early, once he'd finished his paper work, and had gotten himself packed and ready to leave. His plan was to go and not be seen, to make it easy on his friends. He had arranged for a transport to pick him up just before the morning rush and he'd be gone. Now, all that was left was to say good bye; a real true good bye for the first time in his life and he knew how hard it was going to be. He'd heard his friends talk of their great departures, of the tears and of all the sorrow and he didn't want it to be like that with his Ohana. He'd see them again. He was sure he would but this was going to be the first time he had ever had to say good bye.

Danny had organized everything through the chaos of their case, (Steve wondered how he did it). When Steve arrived at the restaurant he was attacked by a super sized hug, complete with running leap, from Grace and hearty hand shakes and embraces from his friends. Gifts also lined the table in the little private room Danny had booked and as they all settled in and the first round of drinks was ordered by Chin, Steve got to work opening the trinkets that were passed down the table to him.

"You know you gonna miss it here," Kamekona stated as Steve opened the first present filled with a little vile of beach sand and a coupon booklet for Kamekona's shrimp truck. "Incentive to come home brah, you gotta use those before they expire!" he added as Steve checked out the coupons and laughed.

"They expire at the end of the month Kamekona, how am I going to use them?" Steve asked through his laughter.

"Use all your super powers to get back here," Kamekona retorted.

"Ok, I'll try!"

"That one is from us," Malia smiled as Steve opened the next gift and smiled at Chin. "It's got everything you need, and of the highest quality!" She explained.

"She stole it from the supply cupboard at the hospital so you know it's a heavy duty first aid kit!" Chin added with a laugh.

"Thank you Malia," Steve stated.

"You're welcome Steven," She laughed.

"Mine next Uncle!" Grace stated and pushed a pink frilly bag down the table.

From the bag Steve pulled a leather bound journal and as he flipped through its pages he noticed that most of them were blank but occasionally he'd find a little note, written in Gracie's neatest writing, or a drawing done in crayon, or even a photo or clipping from a birthday card or magazine.

"Gracie this is amazing!" Steve said as the little girl rushed around the table and hugged him.

"I wrote in it for you just random things so that you can read them when you get lonely. Or you can write all about your adventures on the blank pages." Grace explained.

"I will absolutely do that," Steve smiled and pulled Grace up into his lap as another gift was passed down the table toward him.

"Max and I went in together," Charlie smiled as Steve pulled the green camo wrapped box toward him.

"Nice!" Steve laughed as he opened the weapon cleaning kit.

"What else do you get a Navy SEAL?" Max asked, "Seriously, you are so hard to buy for!"

"You didn't have to get me anything!" Steve stated.

"Oh yes we did," Charlie called down the table, "could have bought you everything in the police supply store, but then we thought you probably have at lease one of everything in that place!"

"And more!" Danny stated, "Just look in the trunk of my car and you'll find the surplus store!"

"It's true!" Steve laughed, "now we have a weapon cleaning kit too Danno!"

Danny rolled his eyes as the rest of the group laughed.

"Alright what is this?" Steve asked as the last box was pushed down the table toward him.

"It's from me," Kono smiled as Steve removed the paper and looked down on the spiral bound album before him. As he opened to the first page the big block letters caught his attention and then the photograph.

Steve smiled down at the shot taken in his back yard only days ago. It truly was a beautiful picture of his home and his Ohana. The next page bore the shots taken of him and Grace on the beach, holding hands, making promises to one another. Further on were shots of his boys, shots of the girls, Grace's new school photo, a random shot of him and Danny drunk at some bar where Danny had got Steve in a head lock, and much more. The whole album was labeled and dated, with news paper clippings and short retellings of antics written in Kono's neat hand writing, neater then her paperwork.

"When did you find time to do this?" Steve asked as he looked down the table to the youngest member of his team.

"It doesn't matter," She smiled, "All that matters is this time, on this mission, you can take all of us with you and remember we're here when you get back."

"Kono, it's beautiful, really!" Steve said as he stood up and walked down the room and took the young woman in his arms, "thank you so much!"

"You're welcome boss!" Kono smiled.

When the evening had passed on into the late hours, and people one by one said their last good byes to Steve, Steve helped Danny load a sleeping Grace into the back seat of the Camaro. Steve then placed all his new treasures into his pick up truck and walked back to where his partner stood.

"So, I guess this is it," Steve stated as he reached out to shake Danny's hand, "Take care of my crew Danno."

"Don't start that with me!" Danny stated and instead of shaking Steve's hand he pulled his partner into a hug, "the crew will be there tomorrow to see you off. We said we'd be with you to the very end and we will be." Danny stated as he released his partner.

"You don't have to do that," Steve smiled, "Tonight was enough and I'll be back before you know it."

"Promise me you'll be back," Danny stated.

"You told me not to make that promise." Steve laughed.

"Yeah well if you haven't noticed yet, I'm a fool. So promise me, Steven, as your best friend and your brother that you will come back to Five-O in one piece."

"I promise Daniel," Steve smiled.

"Ok, I'll kill you if you don't!" Danny said and tried to discreetly wipe a tear from his eye as he passed an envelope to Steve.

"What's this?" Steve asked with a smile.

"It's just something ridiculous and sentimental, but don't open it now. Open it when you need me." Danny explained.

"Alright," Steve stated and pocked the envelope.

The sun rose on Friday morning like a bad omen and Steve had risen with it. He dressed in his work uniform, shoved Danny's envelope into one of his many pockets and carefully packed his first aid kit, his new Grace journal and his photo album into the bottom of his duffle bag, and then he prepared to leave his childhood home once again.

Suddenly memories, like his life flashing before his eyes, crossed over the surface of his mind and he saw his mother in the kitchen, his father in the garage and Mary playing in the living room. It was a time of peace in his life.

Then he saw the officers at the door the day his mother died and the day that his father's sister took Mary away in tears, and the day he was shipped off the first time. It was a time of sorrow in his life.

Finally he saw Danny and a weapon aimed in his direction. He saw Chin Ho and Malia after the wedding and Grace on her third Christmas as part of their Ohana, with the big tree and the gingerbread in his house. He saw Kono laughing as she attacked him with water balloons on a day that was so hot they could hardly breathe and he saw Danny laughing in the white deck chairs out back. It was a time when happiness had returned and he realized just how much this house, this one place in the entire world, meant to who he really was. It was full of good time and bad. It was like a time capsule in his world where he kept all of his memories. Sure he had memories of another time and another place, but none of them were as vivid and alive as they were in his house.

One last glance at the house and the images left him as the early morning transport arrived to take him to base. He was the only one in the vehicle except for the driver and an uncomfortable silence, one that Steve had not heard since obtaining a Jerseyan as a partner, descended in the empty spaces.

The vehicle pulled to a stop at the base before long and to his surprise as he stepped from the van he saw the bright silver Camaro and the four people who were like his flesh and blood.

Grace bolted away from her father and flew into Steve's arms.

"Good bye Uncle Steve." She whispered through her crocodile tears, "I'm going to miss you so much."

"I'm going to miss you too baby girl." Steve whispered as his voice hitched.

"Aloha my brother," Chin whispered as he, Danny and Kono joined Steve and Grace in the middle of the parking lot.

"You guys didn't have to come here." Steve stated trying to hide his own emotions.

"Sure we did," Danny stated, "It's what family does when their loved ones are leaving!" he added as he hugged his partner one last time, "with you till the very end." he whispered before he let go.

Steve forced a smile before taking Kono into his arms.

"Be careful," she whispered.

"I'll try," he answered.

"I'll miss you!"

"I'll miss you too Kono!" he said and looked into her tear stained eyes.

"Well I guess this is good bye, for now," Chin sighed as he too let his emotions surface and he hugged the young man before him.

"Farewell," Kono whispered.

"So long," Danny added.

"Aloha," Chin finished.

"Guys, I'll be back!" Steve smiled but his eyes said something completely different.

One last hug, with all five of them wrapped in each others arms saw Steve break away first and hoist his duffle onto his shoulder.

"Take care of my team Danno!" He yelled over his shoulder as he walked toward the base gates.

"We're in good hands!" Kono called out to him as she waved.

"I know!" Steve shouted, waved one last time, and disappeared into the world of the United States Navy.


	8. A Day In Purgatory

**A/N: The last section of this chapter is how I am feeling right now with what is going on. Nothing is really getting better, nothing is really getting worse, but there isn't any way to move forward just yet. It's a crappy feeling. **

**Well I hope the chapter is satisfactory for now. Sorry it took so long.**

**Enjoy**

Chapter 8: A Day in Purgatory

Danny held Grace tightly around her shoulders as she sobbed and held tightly to his wrists that rested under her chin. Steve had long since disappeared into the hustle and bustle of the base but the three Five-Os and their beloved child sat, huddled together as they leaned on the hood of the silver Camaro.

"Daddy, I don't feel well. I don't think I'll make it to school today." Grace sighed through her tears as her little body shook.

"I won't make you go." Danny said softly as he pet his child's hair.

"Danny please don't make me go to work today," Kono sighed as she rested a sorrow stained cheek on Danny's shoulder.

"I won't make you go either Kono," Danny said softly as he looked into the woman's sad eyes. "I don't think any of us are in any state to do anything today but be sad. We have to get it out of our systems, however, and do what Steve needs us to do. But for now, just for today, it's ok to be sad."

"We should go," Chin said softly after another few moments passed them all by. "I'll offer up my place for our pity party."

"I'll make pancakes," Danny said and sadly smiled down at his daughter, "do you want pancakes?" he asked.

"I'll eat if I have to," Grace said weakly and reached out for her father to hug her.

"You can nap at Chin's," Danny sighed as he lifted his daughter into his arms and was the first to move away from the hood of the Camaro.

Kono moved next and climbed into the back seat taking a fatigued and slow Grace from her father as Chin climbed into the passenger seat and Danny took his place as driver. They were now one man down, no turning back, Steve wasn't going to come back through those gates and ride off into the sunset with them. This was the beginning; the beginning of a very long and hard separation.

5-0

The flight was long and uncomfortable in the transport air craft. The plane was loaded to the gills with combat gear, men and supplies, and Steve watched them all in silence. His world hadn't been silent like this since he had returned to Hawaii, and when it all began he would have killed for the silence, but now he wanted to hear Danny's loud boisterous voice and Kono's laugh. He wanted to shake the words out of a silent contemplative Chin and hear talk of super heroes and a thousand ways to die from Max. Steve was craving the mundane noises of his family and they had only just taken off.

Many of the men that sat huddled around Steve, in the noise of the jet engines, he knew but like himself the deployment was an interruption in their regular lives and it wasn't the time to engage in camaraderie; not yet. They went about their business, obeyed the orders set out before them knowing that this was their duty, but they were human and allowed themselves, in the uneasy static of the rumbling engines to feel the pain of leaving what they loved behind. They knew their duty, understood their sacrifice and were ready to die for what they believed in, and for those they had left behind, but they were human all the same and leaving was never easy.

5-0

Danny paced the length of the small kitchen as Chin worked diligently over the sink. They had found themselves at Chin's before long and, as promised, Danny got to work in the kitchen making breakfast while Kono and Grace sat together and Kono tried to entertain the little girl with stories of the Hawaiian people. Grace listened attentively but the subject matter wasn't what she wanted to hear and though she usually enjoyed Kono's stories, the ones she'd been told when she was just Grace's age, they islands seemed dull and gloomy even with their rich history.

It wasn't long before the meal was ready and the four of them sat around the little kitchen table in silence and simply went through the motions of eating. After breakfast Grace fell asleep on the couch and, for a short time, Kono hovered around her straightening cushions on the couch and dusting before she too settled in and arm chair and dozed.

Chin and Danny took up the nervous waiting in the kitchen and began to clean up just as the noon hour started to roll around.

"I need to do something," Danny stated as his pacing became more frantic, "we should have gone into work."

"There is still time," Chin said as he placed dishes in the drying rack and let the water drain from the sink.

"And what would I do if I went into the office today?" Danny asked throwing his arms up.

"You'd pace," Chin stated, "I'd sit at my desk in silence and Kono, she'd try not to cry but she'd be unsuccessful."

"Is this what the next six months to a year is going to be like?" Danny asked as he leaned on the counter next to Chin.

"For now," Chin answered contemplatively. "We'll get through our days and night. Some will be harder than others, and some will fly by and we'll wonder where they went. But we'll always feel the missing limb. I never understood it before, but I get it now. It really is like the energy is here but the presence isn't. What is Five-O going to be like without Steve?"

"I've run the crew while he was on drills, but we knew things when he went off like that. One week here or there isn't a big deal, but this; this is big and in your face." Danny stated as he ran his hands through his hair.

"Yeah, and it's different. This task force is and will always be us, the four of us because we formed it; Steve brought us together. Before if someone left you could keep yourself busy with a rookie or training, or they'd give you a new partner, or something could come up to better your career, but Five-O is what it is and we don't want any additions but we're clearly not doing well with the subtraction."

"Not yet, this is only day one and it feels like…well I don't know. Not like being terminated because we're not. We're expected to go back to work and carry on as Five-O, just without Steve. This doesn't feel like the day when Jameson was murdered. When it was all over and we were split up. We're not, we're together but apart. We're lost and yet we're found. It's not quite lost in translation but there isn't any real communication. What are we Chin?"

"We stuck in the middle and we don't know how to take the first step." Chin said and leaned on the edge of the counter. "It's like purgatory."

"You're right." Danny sighed. "Monday morning, we fight out way out. We take the first step and we get back on track. What do you say?"

"Monday is as good a day as any," Chin sighed and scanned his kitchen for more you.

"Yeah it is," Danny sighed again and resumed his pacing as Chin went about completing the mundane tasks he'd set out before himself.


	9. Mission Control

**A/N: here is another small offering for this weekend. I finally think I know where I am going to go with this story! From here on out, we are off and rolling~ **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 9: Mission Control

Steve's first order of business was to meet with Admiral Winchester to get his mission started. He'd left his Five-O hat somewhere over the pacific and now it was time to dig deep and be Navy through and through. The sooner he could do this, the sooner he would be able to go back, and from the moment he set foot on the foreign soil this was his mentality.

The number one man in charge stood from behind his desk as Steve walked into the mobile unit establishment.

"So you've made it," Winchester smiled seeing Steve in his work uniform where he believed the young man belonged and looking less emotional than when he'd gotten the news of this deployment.

"Yes sir," Steve answered shortly.

"You're not here to chat are you sailor?" The man smiled.

"No sir," Steve answered, "my team is here, assembled for the mission, what are we doing?" he asked.

"Naval intelligence has been tracking Anton Hesse's organization since before the ambush and termination of that mission." The admiral began pacing, "you are familiar with his number two?"

"And the three, four and five; His brother, Victor, is dead." Steve answered.

"For good, this time?" Winchester challenged.

Anger flashed in Steve's eyes but he remained silent.

"We believe that Wolfgang Wolt has taken over exactly where Anton and Victor left off, but at the same time he is out for vengeance." Winchester explained knowing he'd struck a chord with Steve. "Your mission is to find Wolfgang and take him into custody. We need him alive to find out who his sources are and to shut down the ring indefinitely."

Steve nodded silently but in the back of his mind, after having dealt with so many more criminal informants, Steve knew deep down that Wolfgang wouldn't tell them anything. Steve's real mission was to identify and capture, or terminate, all the players in the international weapons smuggling ring. Wolfgang may have been his biggest fish at the moment, but he wasn't the only fish to be netted on this mission.

"What kind of vengeance is he seeking?" Steve asked as he scanned the file in his hands.

"Wolfgang has made it his personal mission to see his partners killers brought to justice, or whatever justice he believes in." Winchester stated.

Steve's eyes grew wide, "who are we talking about sir, Anton or Victor?"

"Both, they were like brother to Wolt, took him off the streets as a young lad and molded him into what he is now. If there is anyone more dangerous then the Hesses its Wolt for many reasons, primarily that Wolt doesn't have the self control of Victor or Anton. He will not hesitate to murder whoever stands in his way."

"You know…" Steve seethed with anger but continued to hold his stance and professionalism. "You know that I am the reason both men are dead and indirectly my team back in Hawaii."

"This is a matter of national security. I couldn't get your Five-O involved but I knew I could get you. That is why we've given you all that you need to get the jump on Wolt and his men." Winchester smiled.

"My family back in Hawaii are unprotected and in danger because I'm here." Steve stated.

"They are the best of the best Commander McGarrett, you said so yourself, they are highly trained men and women of law enforcement. You have nothing to worry about, I am sure they are perfectly capable of handling themselves should any danger arise. Besides, they have the back up of the Hawaiian police service, and you have the Navy."

Steve stood stalk still, grinding his teeth and trying to keep his composer in the face of his commanding officer.

"This mission is top secret, highest levels of command and a matter of international security. It demands the highest levels of our own security. Do you understand Commander?" Winchester asked.

"Yes sir," Steve answered shortly.

"You cannot tell anyone, not even your colleagues in Hawaii, what you are doing out here." Winchester added.

"I understand sir."

"Good, ready your men, you'll be leaving again at twenty one hundred hours. The flight will take you to sea where you will join naval intelligence to get to work on locating Wolfgang Wolt and his center of operations in eastern Asia." Winchester explained. "That will be all sailor."

5-0

Monday morning dawned and Danny was the first to walk into the very dark, very silent, very deserted Five-O bullpen.

"Well now what Steve?" Danny asked the open space as he hit the light switch and the common areas were bathed in light. Another switch and the Smart System woke up, and with one more switch Danny stood in the middle of Steve's empty office. There was a stack of files sitting in the middle of the desk, Danny reached for them, sighed to himself and then turned off the lights again and made his way to his own private space.

Chin was the second to arrive. He walked directly into Danny's office with a piping hot cup of coffee and placed it on the corner of Danny's desk as Danny signed his name at the bottom of the page before him and closed the file.

"What do you have for us, Boss?" Chin smiled but there was something lacking.

"I'm not the boss," Danny sighed, "just the stand in and I've got nothing but files to sign off on."

"We'll get through this Danny," Chin sighed and sipped his coffee.

"I know. We just need to get to work." Danny said and grabbed his coffee.

Kono arrived moments later and she too walked directly into Danny's office.

"You ok kid?" Danny asked as she fell into the leather chair before him.

"No," Kono sighed.

"Maybe if we can nab a case in the next little while you'll feel better; something to take your mind off things and get us all out of this office and back to what we do the best." Chin said sympathetically

"That's not the only reason I'm in a mood." Kono huffed.

Danny and Chin exchanged worried glances.

"It's not that either!" Kono almost yelled, "God men are so typical!"

"Was it a fight with Fong?" Chin asked.

"No, Dennings is here with some noob!" Kono stated as Dennings and another young man walked into the office. "I walked in just before them and managed to catch the announcement in the main office before I ducked and ran. The new guy is Steve replacement until he gets back." Kono explained in a hushed voice as quickly as she could before Dennings made eye contact and summoned everyone out into the common area.


	10. Bad Vibes

**A/N: Are there any X-files fans out there? If there are I'm sure you catch the connection I'm making and the suspicion that should go with it. That's all I'm saying!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 10: Bad Vibes

Danny led the way out to the middle of the bullpen where the Governor of Hawaii stood with a young man clearly not from Hawaii.

"Good Morning Detective Williams, Lieutenant Kelly, Officer Kalakaua, I'd like to introduce you to Detective Lex Krychuk, he's been hired to assist Five-O until Commander McGarrett returns." Dennings stated proudly. "Detective Williams will be your commanding officer." He added as he turned to Lex.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of your and I am looking forward to working with you on this most prestigious task force," Krychuk said kissing as much ass as he could.

"Yeah nice to meet you," Danny said with a lack luster tone as he shook the young mans hand, "where are you from, Rookie?" he asked and caught the same suspicion in both Chin and Kono.

"Washington D.C," Lex answered proudly.

"How long have you been with the service?" Chin asked picking up the interrogation where Danny had left off.

"Five years," Krychuk answered, "I just wrote my detectives tests in January. Moved out here not even a week ago when the job with Five-O was offered to me. I'd heard about it from my commanding officer back in D.C and he was sure I would nab it. You can contact him if you like for more of my credentials."

"Trust me I will," Danny said shortly.

"I'll make the files available to you Detective," Krychuk smiled.

"How long have you been looking to replace McGarrett?" Danny accused angrily as he turned his attention on the Governor.

"I'm not replacing him. It just seemed like the right time to fill the position left vacant by Officer Weston and you need the extra man power now that the Lieutenant Commander is away on tour. Everything will function as before with you at the helm Detective. Upon McGarrett's return we will re-evaluate Krychuk's successfulness with Five-O and decide his future from there. This is your probationary period Detective Krychuk." Dennings explained.

"I wouldn't want to do anything that wasn't by the book," Krychuk smiled, but his mere presences in the room left a sour taste in the mouths of all the Five-Os.

"I have a new case for you and I expect a stack of reports on my desk by the end of the day Detective Williams." The Governor added and walked out of the office.

"So what do we do first?" Krychuk asked overly enthusiastically and ready to get down to busyness.

Chin, Kono and Danny exchanged looks of annoyance.

"Kono, you and Chin, head to the crime scene." Danny said as he handed over the new file to his counter parts and the only other people in the room he trusted.

"We're on it D." Chin said and he and Kono left the bullpen.

"What should I do D?" Krychuk asked.

"One, you can call me Detective Williams, but never D." Danny said and walked to the back of the office space and right up to another glass door. Behind the door stood a box of an office with one little window and the desk and chairs that had been left behind when Jenna first vacated the space and then Lori. The room had been dubbed; by the four original members of Five-O, the brig and it was where Krychuk would keep his things until he too was evicted. "This is your office. Get used to it and familiarize yourself with HQ. You have twenty minutes while I finish my paper work. The one place that is off limits to you is McGarrett's office. If I catch you in there, there will be hell to pay and you won't make it through your probationary period, do I make myself clear?" Danny barked at the young man who nodded fearfully.

"Yes sir."

"Good, you have twenty minutes." Danny stated, turned away and walked back to his own office. "Noob," he sighed to himself under his breath and shut his door behind him.

5-0

Chin and Kono arrived at the crime scene just as the Crime Lab was fishing bodies out of the suburban home's pool.

"How many do we have?" Kono asked as she knelt down beside Max.

"Three in the pool, all killed execution style, and one in the house." Max explained as he stood and walked Kono inside while Chin chatted with the first responding officers.

Kono found it interesting as they walked into the upper end house, that there was nothing more than a few random mattresses in the house. The kitchen, where the fourth body was tied to a chair and visibly looked like the man was tortured before being shot between the eyes sat in the middle of the room. There was blood spatter all over the white walls, and kitchen surfaces, but aside for the evidence of the crime committed, the kitchen was pristine. Kono shivered at the gruesome sight before her.

"Have HPD found anything?" Kono asked as Chin rushed into the house following two officers.

"I guess so," Charlie stated as he looked up from the blood he was swabbing.

Kono ran after her cousin to the second floor of the house where, again, most of the space was devoid of furniture or even paint. The walls were white, the floor was hardwood, but there was nothing to define the spaces in-between. They made their way toward the master bedroom. Kono could see that there were an army of forensic scientists and HPD officers already in there.

"Oh my God," Kono gasped at the sighed of hundreds of military and illegal weapons.

"It's an arsenal!" Chin said as he too stopped and stared in disbelief.

"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Kono asked.

"I've seen the weapons before and I've used most of them, but those were HPD issue. I have seen store houses of weapons, but never anything like this; never this many." Chin answered.

"So what is this, a store house and a crash pad?" Kono asked, "Are we going to find more in every room we look in?"

"Probably." Chin sighed.

"Wow." Kono said, because it was the only thing she could think of, as she let her discomfort for the place and the strange feeling of uneasiness pass over her.

"Welcome to suburbia," Chin sighed.

"We had better get Danny and the new kid out here right away. This is huge and it's going to take a long time to get through it all." Kono said still staring at the massive number of weapons.

"And we need every last one of these weapons bagged and sent to the crime lab for processing. I'm almost ready to bet that none of these weapons are legal." He added. "We'll also have to tear this house apart to see what else is hidden here."

"It's going to be a long day." Kono sighed and pulled out her phone.

"Are you distracted enough yet?" Chin asked before Kono dialed the number and pressed the phone to her ear.

"No, I wish McGarrett was here." She answered with a sigh and walked to a quiet corner of the hallway to make her phone calls.

5-0

Danny and his new rookie arrived at the crime scene just as the coroners office was leaving. Danny waved to Max as the black SUVs pulled away and then marched up the front, nicely manicured path, toward the main entrance to the suburban house.

Kono rushed out of the house to meet Danny.

"It's insane in there," Kono stated.

"Do we have anything concrete?" Danny asked.

"Millions of prints, hair, blood, foot prints. You name it, forensics is finding it." Kono sighed.

"What about the victims?" Krychuk asked.

"One of the men from the pool was found with a wallet on him, but the identification in it looked nothing like the victim," Kono answered.

"And the house?" Danny asked.

"Aside for the forensics evidence and a fridge full of food, there isn't anything to distinguish this house. There are no electronics, no computers and no phones not even a land line. There is electricity and water connected, but that's all." Kono explained as an armored vehicle pulled up.

"What is that for?" Krychuk asked.

"To transport all the weaponry back to the crime lab," Danny answered as if it were obvious. "You didn't think they'd just put all that stuff in the back seat of a cruiser now did you?"

"Well, yeah I mean how much can there actually be?" Krychuk answered.

"There are way too many for that," Kono stated feeling somewhat sorry for the rookie but at the same time she was suspicious of him.

"Alright Kono, you take the Rookie back to HQ and get started on that wallet and find out who owns this house." Danny instructed and motioned for the guarding HPD officer to let him into the house. "I'll take over with Chin."

"But wait, I haven't even seen the inside of the house yet," Krychuk called with disappointment on his tone.

"There are pictures, come on we have work to do," Kono said and walked off toward her red Cruise.

"You heard the woman!" Danny stated and waved the rookie away. Call it intuition or whatever, but Danny was getting a very bad vibe from the new comer.


	11. First Contact

**A/N: Its my spring break and I know I promised updates so here they are, don't you feel loved! We all miss Steve, so here is his first contact with his Ohana. Hope you like it.**

**Enjoy and please, let's see if we can cross the 100 comments mark. That would be super fun and I would love you all forever! (I already love you all forever for getting this story this far!)**

Chapter 11: First Contact

By early morning of day two on the case Danny and the rest of Five-O had nothing substantial to go on as the crime lab was swamped with evidence to process and with four bodies to autopsy Max's hands were full as well.

Danny arrived early again and went directly to his office with more paper work and reports to finish. Just as he sat down his cell began ringing and he answered it thinking it would be the crime lab.

"Danny?" the familiar but weary voice asked.

"Steve, you miss me already?" Danny asked brightly.

"Sure do partner. What are you working on?" Steve asked conversationally just happy to hear Danny's voice.

"Quadruple homicide and suspect arms dealers." Danny stated as if it were nothing new, and it wasn't for the members of Five-O.

"Arms dealers?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, HPD were called when the bodies were spotted in the suburban house pool. Upon further investigation they found military grade weaponry down to hand guns. They are still processing the scene and the multitudes of forensics evidence. Aren't you glad you aren't me right now?" Danny joked.

"Oh yeah," Steve stated sarcastically but at the same time he was suspicious.

"And that's not the best part!" Danny stated and Steve laughed because he could hear the rant coming on. "Dennings assigned a rookie to the crew for extra help."

"What do you mean a rookie?" Steve asked angrily.

"I mean he's as green as can be. Like right out of the academy green, I mean he says he's not but, holy crap, he just passed his detectives test and moved out here from Washington. Seriously who's ass is he kissing to get this assignment. He has no clue when it comes to what is going on and I have a feeling that he's putting on an act. I don't trust him as far as I can throw him." Danny explained with a sigh and complete aggravation.

"Name?" Steve asked.

"What do you need his name for? Are you going to run him through all your super secret databases to find out if he bites his nails or if his mothers been divorced six times? He's useless, that's my issue and too young to be on a task force like this." Danny explained.

"Kono was young for the task force but she's brilliant." Steve countered, "Just give me the name Danno."

"Alexander Cornelius Krychuk of Washington D.C."

"Cornelius, poor kid!" Steve laughed.

"I know you gotta feel sorry for him a little." Danny chuckled and then continued, "His commanding officer on the police force in Washington was a Lieutenant Richard Boyd. He passed his Detectives exam top of his class. He's 30 years old. He's got brown hair and brown eyes and loves long walks on the beach." Danny teased.

Steve rolled his eyes.

"I heard that eye roll!" Danny laughed.

"Danno, come on, be serious. What do you really know about this guy?" Steve asked.

"Exactly what I just read to you from his personnel file, what more do you want Steven? The kid had it with him when he arrived and it was dropped in my lap yesterday morning." Danny ranted.

"I'm going to have some of my contacts look into this Haole." Steve stated.

"I don't trust him, so if you find anything let me know." Danny sighed.

"You know I will." Steve smiled. "I wouldn't trust him either and I would have fought Dennings on giving us a rookie."

"Like you fought when he assigned Lori?" Danny countered.

"Whatever, tell me more about the case," Steve laughed wanting to know more about the every day workings of his crew.

Truth be told, Steve missed it desperately already and wanted to feel like he was still part of their investigation, even if he couldn't be.

"I wish I could tell you more Steve, but this case is so all over the place. I don't know what's going on and I did a walk through of the crime scene." Danny said and smiled as Kono walked into his office. "Wanna say hit to Steve?" Danny smiled as Kono jumped for the phone.

"Hey Boss Man, you calling to tell us you're finished already and your coming home?" Kono asked excitedly.

"I wish I were. I'm just getting started here." Steve laughed. "I'm calling because I'm heading out to sea with my SEAL team. We have to spend some time with navy intelligence and I probably won't be able to make contact for a while after this. And because I wanted to make sure Danno was filling my shoes." Danny watched as Kono's face fell. "But I hear you guys have a big case and a new rookie to keep you busy so you won't even notice that I'm gone." Steve added as he heard Kono sigh sadly.

"Trust me, its very obvious you aren't here. It's quiet, too quiet, around here without you." Kono said.

"There are some smoke grenades in my bottom desk drawer," Steve teased, "go and set off a few of those and you'll have the noise you so desperately seem to need."

"Stop making fun of me," Kono tired to be serious but laughed all the same.

"I'll be back soon, Kono, and on the bright side you're not the rookie anymore." Steve joked and Kono smiled, "put him through hell for me, kid, make sure he know how much hassle we gave you as the rookie on the team and, if he's really driving you crazy Danny knows all my best contacts and I give you permission to throw him in a shark tank or hang him off a roof to break him in."

"You want me to throw him in a shark tank?" Kono stated out loud and watched as Danny shook his head, "He is Haole boss, he'd have a heart attack, but the roof idea however, I could totally get behind!"

"NO!" Danny stated.

"Shark tank, leave him in the jungle, dress him up in drag and send him in under cover, you know what I like!" Steve joked. "There are some grenades in the trunk of the Camaro and I know you know how to use them, maybe you could teach him a thing or two."

"I'm on it Boss!" Kono laughed.

"Stop corrupting our rookies!" Danny yelled into the phone and heard Steve laugh.

"Chin just got here and I wouldn't want to hog the whole phone call." Kono added as she waved her cousin into Danny's office, "Aloha Steve, come home soon and safe!"

"Aloha Kono," Steve echoed.

"Hey McGarrett!" Chin's voice greeted cheerfully.

"Hey, big case I hear. Keep em' in line Kelly, I've already told Kono to give the rookie a hard time for me." Steve joked. "You had better make sure she doesn't go too overboard and that the job actually gets done."

"So much responsibility," Chin laughed, "I'm glad you put Danny in charge." He joked while Danny rolled his eyes. "Listen, you take care of yourself Steve. Don't worry about a thing back here. Danny's got it all under control and we need you to come back in one piece."

"I'm working on it!" Steve smiled.

"Alright, I'll hand you back to Danny because he's looking a little left out. Aloha. It was good to hear your voice."

"Aloha Chin," Steve echoed.

"Alright so how top secret is this mission you're on?" Danny asked when he had the phone back.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you." Steve joked but was serious at the same time, "all I can say is its big. I've done this before and I know that it reaches almost all the way back to you. Watch your back Danno."

"Steve seriously, what does that mean?" Danny asked.

"I can't say but I'm sure you'll figure it out." Steve answered. "Danny, I gotta go. My ship is leaving in a few hours. I'll be at sea and I won't be able to make contact for a while. Just be careful ok."

"I will," Danny sighed. "Same goes for you Steven."

"Don't worry," Steve smiled to himself, "aloha Danny, have fun with your new rookie."

"Fire him when you come back please."

"I will just for you!" Steve laughed.

"Aloha Steve."

"Give my love to Gracie."

"I will."

"Bye."

"Bye."


	12. Building A Case

**A/N: Thank you everyone for the comments! We've almost cracked 100! Here is another update for you, signaling the end of my March Break…sigh… it went by very fast but I got a lot of writing done, not so much on this story but on other ones. Anyway, I love that so many people are suspicious of Krychuk, I love that there are so many people out there that were X-files fans, but most of all, I love the theories! You guys are amazing! Thanks so much for those, they make my day!**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter, leave a comment if you have a new theory, or just because you want to!**

Chapter 12: Building a Case

By the afternoon of the third day Max finally had his autopsies finished and had summoned the Five-Os to him. Danny, with the new rookie, left Chin and Kono behind to pour through the evidence that had started to fly in from the crime lab, and he and Krychuk headed for the coroners office.

"Oh hello," Max stated as he looked up from his piano to see the stranger with Danny.

"Max this is Detective Krychuk. He's the newest member of Five-O." Danny explained knowing how much Max wasn't keen on new people in his space.

"Hello Doctor Bergman." Lex smiled.

"Gentlemen, follow me," Max stated with a nod to the newcomer as he moved toward the sterile room. "For your information I have determined that you pool bodies were dead long before you kitchen victim. The body found in the kitchen of the house had only been dead for two hours prior to our arrival, but your pool victims had been dead for at least twelve hours." Max explained.

"This may be a stupid question but how did they die?" Danny asked.

"The pool victims all died in the same way. A single gun shot wound to the head execution style. But I don't believe they knew what was coming. They didn't have any other bodily trauma. I managed to get prints from the bodies for you and the bullets were all recovered. The crime lab has them now." Max explained. "But the last victim was brutally beaten before he was shot. He would have died from his injuries; the shot was a mercy shot." Max added as he uncovered the face of the man that had been found tied to a chair in the kitchen. "Blunt force trauma to the head caused his brain to hemorrhage. He would have died from that alone. I managed to lift an odd impression from the wound on his skull. I'm not sure what it could be so I sent it to the crime lab. Other traumas include, trauma to the abdomen causing internal damage to organs and causing bleeding. The victim has six broken fingers, cracked ribs, bruising around the neck, wrists and ankles. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say this guy knew something and was tortured for information."

"It would seem that way." Danny sighed.

"Really you think so?" Krychuk asked and was met with looks of confusion. "I mean maybe this guy was just a thug throwing his weight around and he was punished for that behaviour by the people he answered too."

"Then why torture _and_ kill him?" Danny asked. "They got what they wanted and then they put him out of his misery. If it was punishment, torture sure, or just kill the guy, but why do it to this extent and then just leave the body to be found. The information he was holding was probably more important then the weapons found in the house and whoever did this wanted us to find this body."

"But the beating was so severe that he would have died anyway," Lex argued.

"With a house full of weapons and three dead bodies in the pool, I would imagine they would want to cover their tracks if your hypothesis was sound, but they didn't." Danny said ending the argument. "Until we hear back from the crime lab and figure out who owned that house, we're talking theoretically anyway."

"Here is your file Detective Williams." Max stated and handed his reports to Danny.

"Thanks Max, you're the best." Danny smiled half heartedly and turned to leave.

"It was nice meeting you Doctor Bergman," Krychuk smiled politely and rushed to follow Danny.

5-0

"The house was owned by a Mr. Johann Bachmann." Chin stated as Kono came out of her office and stood with her cousin.

"He looks like our victim." Kono said.

"Yeah, we're running prints Max got from the body against the ones that are on file. Johann has a criminal record." Chin explained.

"We should run his prints against the prints that the crime lab lifted off the gun that killed the victims in the pool. The bullets retrieved by Max were run against the hand guns that were confiscated from the house. Three of the four bullets match this weapon," Kono explained and brought an image up on the Smart System.

"What about the last bullet?" Chin asked.

"It's not a match to any of the weapons in the house but I'm running it through our databases to see if we can find a match." Kono answered.

Danny walked into the bullpen followed by his new shadow, Krychuk.

"Do we have anything?" Danny asked and rubbed the bridge of his nose as a bell sounded from the Smart System.

"We have a positive identification on the victim found inside the house. His name is Johann Bachmann." Chin stated as the computer confirmed the finger prints. "He's also the owner of the house."

"Victim and suspect, both dead, great," Danny sighed but wasn't surprised by the turn of events.

"He's also the one that fired the weapon that killed three of the pool victims." Kono added as the bell sounded again.

"But there were four," Krychuk stated.

"Yes, we have the fourth bullet and we are running that through the system to see if we can't find something." Chin stated.

"So who killed Bachmann?" Danny asked as the bell sounded once more.

"Michailo Swartz." Kono stated and threw a mug shot up onto another screen. "The bullet found embedded in Bachmann's skull came back a match to an armed robbery about eighteen months ago." Kono read the information off the screen.

"It was a gang related robbery," Chin added and pulled up the police file.

"We have an address for Michailo." Kono stated.

"Alright let's bring him in." Danny stated.

"Wow, you guys are good!" Krychuk stated in disbelief.

"Yeah we knew. That's kinda why we are called the elite task force…Try to keep up," Danny sighed and rushed out to the awaiting Camaro.


	13. Gotcha'

**A/N: I'm trying to have things move along. Krychuk is trying really had to be accepted. We'll see if that ever happens! (I know it doesn't but if some of you out there want to hope for that, I give you permission to do so!)**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 13: Gotcha'

A quick call for backup and Danny and the crew headed out to the address they'd found for Michailo Schwartz

Chin and Kono road together in Chin's vehicle leaving Danny alone with Krychuk again; at least with this partner Danny did the driving. Unfortunately he already had a partner and Krychuk was the third wheel. Truth be told, Danny liked it when Steve drove, it gave him time to think, time to rant and get all his thoughts out. He always had a sounding board in Steve, and though most of the time it sounded like Danny was angry, really he just wanted to make sense of the thoughts in his head.

This ride was silent. Danny wanted to rant, to let out all his feeling about this stupid idea and having a rookie and having to develop trust all over again but he just couldn't so he stewed, ever silent as Krychuk stared out the window at the passing scenery like he'd never seen it before. He probably hadn't, Danny thought to himself and then made a mental note to load the Camaro up with a few of his favorite CDs to cut the terrible silence.

They arrived at the suspect's house in another suburban housing development as the HPD back up pulled in and Danny developed his strategy. They parked down the street, out of sight of the house, but close enough that they had cover if they needed it. Some neighbours had already gotten suspicious and were coming out of their houses when the HPD back up had to wave them back as the weapons were doled out.

"Alright Krychuk and I will take the back," Danny stated as he motioned to himself and to the Rookie, "Kono and Chin are on the front with two additional officers. On my signal you will go first, if Michailo doesn't answer we're hit the back." Danny explained, "We need to take Michailo alive." he added as people nodded around him and then they split up.

At the back door, with his radio ear piece in one ear, Danny pressed his other ear against the back door and listened for movement as Kono knocked at the front door and announced that the police had arrived.

"There are people in there," Danny stated to his crew and over the radio to Kono and Chin.

"We got nothing," Kono whispered. "No one is answering and the door is locked."

"On my mark, take the house." Danny instructed as he braced himself.

"I got your back," Krychuk stated and leveled his shot gun.

"Great," Danny sighed sarcastically and then counted down.

At the same time Chin and Danny kicked in the doors, sending Kono and Lex into the house.

"Down on the ground!" Krychuk yelled as he and Danny, and their HPD backup rushed through the back door. They heard the same calls from Kono and Chin at the front as they corralled all the frantic people into the kitchen.

"Michailo Schwartz, where is he?" Danny demanded of the six people that they had rounded up and handcuffed.

"Don't everyone talk at the same time," Lex stated sarcastically in the faces of the gathered suspects. "The man asked you a question." He yelled into a persons ear as he handcuffed him.

"Get them outta here," Danny ordered, and then he moved off with Kono, Chin and Lex to sweep the rest of the house.

"He's here," Krychuk stated as he climbed the stairs to the second floor, "I can feel it."

Danny and Chin shared a nervous glance before they split up down different branches of the hallway.

After a full and thorough sweep of the second floor, Kono and Chin found another full arsenal of weapons and placed the calls to the crime lab right away. Danny and Lex came up with nothing more then a few empty rooms, literally empty and void of anything.

"Whoa wait," Lex stated as they head back down the hallway, "how did we miss that?" he asked as he pointed up at the ceiling and the inlayed entrance to the attic. The access was barely visible, covered in sheet rock and looking like just another panel of the ceiling, but there was finished hinge in the middle of the ceiling and a clear edge that gave away the trap door.

"I guess we just weren't looking for it." Danny answered.

Raising the shot gun he was carrying over his head, Lex pushed up on the barely visible door thinking it would moved up into the ceiling and give them access. Surprisingly however, the ceiling dropped down at them, with the barely audible hissing of pistons.

"Convenient," Danny said as he watched the ladder lower itself slowly to the ground.

"Just another housing innovation," Lex said and led the way up into the attic with his weapon out in front of him.

"Michailo, Stop!" Lex yelled as he watched a shadow dash across the attic and dive into a corner.

"Don't shoot him!" Danny stated as he rushed forward and threw all of his weight into the pile of boxes the shadow had fallen behind.

A struggle ensued as Krychuk followed Danny into the crash of debris and finally pulled a struggling figure free from the crushed boxes and other unknown materials that would need to be investigated and confiscated.

"Is it him?" Krychuk asked and dragged the suspect forward into the light.

"It's him."

"What's going on up there?" Kono called from down below.

"We got him," Krychuk stated as he pushed the suspect forward down the stairs from the attic, "Detective Williams tackled a pile of boxes to apprehend the suspect."

"Tackled a pile of boxes?" Kono asked with a smirked as Danny appeared out of the darkness of the attic and descended the ladder.

"Don't start with me Detective," Danny smiled but Lex didn't catch the look or the inside joke.

"You could have been shot!" Kono scolded as she pulled a weapon from the suspects pant band as she patted him down and Krychuk held him by the cuffed hands.

"Sorry mom," Danny stated then stood right in front of the suspect, "you know why we're here right?" he asked.

"'Cause I killed four people," Michailo stated straight faced to Danny.

"Four people?" Danny asked as he raised his eye brow.

"Three in the pool and Johann Bachmann," Michailo said.

"Why?" Danny asked before letting Krychuk take the suspect away.

"Johann was trying to weasel his way into my operation and take it over for his own benefit. I'm the king pin, no one else, and that little punk was not going to get away with it." Schwartz stated angrily.

"Get him outta here," Danny ordered and Krychuk moved the suspect down the stairs.

"Do you by that act?" Kono asked when Krychuk was out of earshot.

"No," Danny answered, "it was all to staged and given up all too easily. And we know that he didn't kill all those people only three of the four, and I'm beginning to think he's only the escape goat. He's scared. Why give up all that information so easily."

"His story wont change when you interrogate him," Kono sighed.

"We'll see," Danny said and watched as the HPD officers lead the crime scene unit into their second suburban store house in less than a week. "I need you to hit up the attic as well," Danny announced as Charlie Fong walked up the stairs toward him, "there were a pile of boxes up there, I may or may not have tripped and fallen into them, but there was something in them and I need to know what it was."

"Tripped?" Charlie asked and raised an eyebrow to Danny.

"Tackled," Kono whispered.

"Traitor," Danny hissed.

"Enough with the alliteration, we have a bunch of people to take statements from." Chin stated as he passed them by and walked down the stairs.

"He's the boss!" Danny stated.

"No I'm not, that's your job!" Chin corrected and carried on his way.


	14. Not Finished

**A/N: Hello Everyone! I wanted to say I loved the comments for the last chapter you guys are so funny and so on the ball! I love it! So are there theories about the case? Danny doesn't like the smell of things but they have to move on. Things to come…Mayhem, but not just yet, we have some connections to make and relationships to build. Hope you like what I have so far! More to come soon! Thanks for all the comment I love them and I hope for more!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 14: Not Finished

Danny threw the case file onto his desk as he slammed the door to his office behind him and started to pace grumbling to himself, his face turning red with anger. Things were not working out the way he would have liked them to, and without Steve around to rant at, to, or with Danny's bottled up emotions were starting to erupt like Kilauea on her best days. Usually the members of Five-O knew to not deal with Danny in a time like this, he just needed some time to himself to blow off steam, then it would be business as usual.

"Is he going to be ok?" Lex asked as he stood at the smart computer with Chin. "I mean, the case is closed. We got hundreds of illegal weapons off the streets, we found the last gun used in the murders and Schwartz confessed to everything. Why would the Detective be so angry?"

Chin sighed as he looked up at Danny and then back at the computer, "Danny is a brilliant Detective. This case isn't of our usual cases." Chin explained.

"How wasn't that the usual case for Five-O? Its something that would always be given to the elite and this should be an accomplishment that he's proud of, not angry." Lex stated as he turned toward Danny's office.

"Don't go in there," Chin warned. "If you value this job, you'll stay out of Danny's ways when he's like this." He added and put himself between Lex and Danny's office.

"That kind of behaviour is unacceptable for a man his age," Lex protested, "and someone should say something to him, and that someone is going to be me!"

"It's not going to be you," Chin stated as he grabbed the rookie by the arm. "You listen to me Rookie, and you listen well. This task force is a family and you weren't invited into it. We don't take well to strangers. You want to work here, you want him to trust you, you will walk away right now and do as you're told from here on out. It's not your place to say anything among us." Chin stated forcefully. "And you'll never get anywhere trying to throw your weight around. The things you need to know are as such; one, Danny and Steve are the bosses. Steve may not be here right now, but as far as Danny's concerned he is and his word is law. Two, five is a crowd and you are that fifth guy. Danny would rather work alone then work with someone other then the partner he trusts with his life. Three, trust no one. You really don't have any idea what went on here to bring us together, tear us apart, and build us back up again. We tread lightly and we work by instincts. You need to prove you've got good instincts and don't think that your instincts telling you to go in there and giving Danny a piece of your mind is right, right now. Do I make myself clear?"

Anger flashed read in Lex's eyes, but the resolved in Chin's were stronger.

"Take a walk, clear your head. Come back when you can control your temper." Chin stated.

Lex listened to his superior and walked out of the bull pen. Once Chin was sure the young man was well out of earshot, or rather any possibility of seeing anything, Chin walked across the office to Danny's door, knocked and walked in.

"This case was a fuckin joke!" Danny hissed when he turned, realized it was Chin, and let his emotions come out in words.

"It's suspicious but what else can we do?" Chin sighed. "The evidence points to Michailo, the guns all had his prints on them and he confessed."

"The guns had many prints on them and he confessed too easily," Danny yelled, "and why, in any evil mastermind's mind, would you give up all those weapons so easily, have those out in the open like that and not put up a fight? Why commit the crime in the first place?"

"Cause' it's a crime. Are there really ever any good reasons?" Chin asked.

"You know what I mean," Danny growled, "it's like we were pulled into this just to be distracted. That someone was trying to pull our attention away with some randomly over the top case and then when they realized that we were into it full on, they gave up."

"Maybe it's a cover for something bigger," Chin suggested.

"Now we're talking," Danny stated and continued his pacing.

"It's over, Danny, the case that is, but it's not finished." Chin sighed, "We'll keep looking into it, but for now we have to move on. Kono's gone to pick up another file from Max, we have a new case."

Danny sighed, "What did you tell the rookie, I saw you stop him before he came over here." Danny asked as he ran his hands through his hair.

"I told him to leave you alone," Chin answered honestly.

"He doesn't belong here," Danny sighed and fell into his desk chair, "I don't trust him at all."

"Well that is completely obvious," Chin smiled, "but he's here for the long haul, what can you do about it. Dennings has him baby sitting."

"Where the hell does Dennings find these people?" Danny grumbled, "I don't trust that guy either."

"I'll never trust a governor again," Chin said in concurrence.

"So what are we going to do about the Rookie?" Danny asked.

"He's making things harder, that for sure, but we have to deal with him."

"What is this, week one?" Danny sighed throwing his hands up, "and I'm already falling apart. This is a conspiracy to make me crack, I tell you, someone's got me on surveillance or something, and they are just waiting for me to kick it, go ballistic and shoot someone."

"I don't know about that," Chin laughed, "but something isn't right and we have to get to the bottom of that. Maybe someone is trying to keep us busy to not pay attention to what is going on right under our noses. Kono's on the guns, she's going to keep on investigating on the down low of course, and we'll find time to get to the bottom of this. If anything, the three of us, we're in this together. We'll do what we have to for the cameras and for the governor, and for whoever is watching us, but we're also not fools. This isn't finished, but we have to be so careful."

"I know," Danny sighed, "I know…what now?"

"We caught another case," Chin repeated as he stood, "I have some of the stats up on the board and Kono's gone to Max, she should be back any minute."

"More guns?" Danny asked with a sigh.

"Not this time, I don't think, this one looks like just a body dump." Chin said.

"Alright, lets put on a show," Danny said as he stood, "where are we looking?" he asked and headed out into the bullpen with Chin.


	15. Lost At Sea

**A/N: I know that this story is so centered around Danny now, but Steve is still going to play a huge role in the way things play out for Five-O. Here is one of the few and far between chapters that will bring us into Steve's world.**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 15: Lost at Sea

Steve walked the length of the ship, slow and contemplatively, in one of the moments that he had to let himself drift off with his own thoughts. Most of the time Steve was the super soldier he had been trained to be, his mind was occupied with his mission, with his team mates aboard the ship and his responsibilities as a sailor and a leader, but when he did have time to himself, which wasn't often when you had no where else to go but the different decks and corridors of the ship, his thoughts were always with Danny and the team back on the beautiful island of Oahu.

No contact brought his week to a close and slowly Steve was coming to realize how much he had changed by being a member of Five-O from being that person he was before Hawaii came back into his life. Steve had learned to be a civilian in a way that he had never imagined would happen. The navy and the battles would always be a part of his life, but family, friendship, life away from war had become who he was. Sure he did drills and be bugged Danny about his misconceptions about the navy, but at the same time, Steve had moved away from that life. He liked driving around town in the silver Camaro and never thinking about the base and boats. He loved being able to kick back on the beach, or surf with Danny and Kono, or snorkel and fish with Chin. He enjoyed sleeping in a big beautiful bed, or drinking beers at some bar or another, but most of all he loved being a cop, being that person he though he would be when he was young and he idolized his father for the good cop that _he_ was. Steve had become Five-O and Five-O was where Steve's mind always drifted.

Naval intell had brought him back to a possible location in North Korea, a place he really didn't want to revisit, but a place the mission looked to be taking him. This time he wouldn't go in alone, wouldn't be ambushed and he hoped he wouldn't end up anywhere near where he knew Jenna had been left. He didn't want to think of himself as soft but he couldn't hate Jenna, he couldn't be unfeeling toward her. She had been a friend, she had lost so much and yes she lied and destroyed trust for him, but he understood why she did it. He was feeling guilty for leaving her behind, but he had to escape himself.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Steve turned and paced back along the deck of the aircraft carrier whose dark grey exterior was about as grey as the threatening sky. It was as grey as Steve's mood and he almost wished it would just rain already and wash away the feelings and the discomfort he was going through in this moment of self reflection.

As he walked Steve didn't even realize someone had come to walk beside him, he was so lost in his thoughts that he'd let his guard down. Who could possibly get to him on a ship in the middle of the ocean?

"You wanted to see me Commander?" a sweet voice asked as she nudged him slightly and Steve realized what had happened, "you seem far away today." Catherine comment.

"Yeah," Steve sighed, reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a slip of paper.

"That's not official business."

"It's the name of Five-O's new rookie." Steve said and continued his pacing.

"They replaced you already?" Cat asked in shock.

"The team didn't, the governor did," Steve smirked darkly.

"And you want to talk about it?" Catherine asked.

"Not really, it's bad enough that it's all I think of when my mind should be here with this mission. No, Danny is suspicious of the kid and Danny has the best instincts I've ever experienced. Can you look into him, in all of our usual channels and just keep me posted?" Steve asked.

"I could get in so much trouble for this," Catherine sighed and shook her head.

"I know," Steve sighed and look out at the endless water, "I wouldn't ask if I wasn't suspicious as well."

"Steve you have to work here for now and leave Five-O behind. Danny is the best person to take your place because he knows you so well he may not be navy, but he's as good as any SEAL you'll ever work with." Catherine said soothingly, "what would he say to you if he knew you were distracted like this?"

"He'd kick my ass, verbally of course, but if Danny is suspicious then there is a reason to be suspicious." Steve sighed, "I'm going to sound crazy, but I can tell that something is not right. Danny's out of balance and it's because of this guy, so please, do it for Danny."

"Alright," Catherine said as she shook her head, "I'll see what I can find and I'll keep you posted but I can't guarantee anything before you go ashore in Korea." She added and pocketed the name, "promise me you'll put this out of your mind as soon as you get ashore. You have to watch out for yourself and those men who are now under your command. Danny is miles and miles away, and you are the here and now."

"My mind will be clearer knowing you're looking into it," Steve said.

"When have I ever let you down?" Catherine asked, "I'm on it."

Steve smiled, "I know, take your time. Don't get caught." He added with a wink.

"Oh…you are bad news McGarrett," She giggled. "I should have never gotten involved with the likes of you. I'm a good girl you know."

"You say that all the time. Sometimes I wonder if you have a thing for the bad boys," Steve teased.

"So your mood shifts as soon as you get your way?" Catherine retorted.

Steve nodded playfully but there was still a darkness, as grey as the day, shadowed in his eyes.


	16. The Rookies

**A/N: Hello my lovelies! So, I know that I have been building Lex up in this story. I want you to hate him and feel sorry for him. I want him to make friends but I also want him to be that odd man out. I hope this kinda turns his character around. I'm sorry if I offend any Greeks, I'm not trying too…I'm just basing the family on people I know…who are Greek…sorry.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 16: The Rookies

Kono returned to the palace with the filed from Max only to find Lex pacing outside around the statue of King Kamehameha.

"Hey Rookie," Kono smiled, "what's up?"

"Nothing," Lex sighed. "What do you have there?" he asked eyeing the file in her hand.

"Body dump," Kono stated and handed the files to him, "take it and prove yourself." she added with a smile.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Lex asked suspiciously.

"Because you look like a sad stepped on puppy dog pacing in a circle with your tail between your legs." Kono laughed.

"I'm one pathetic detective," Lex sighed.

"No you're not, you're just green, but the trick to being green and not getting caught is acting like you own the joint." Kono stated.

"I tried that, and got in trouble," Lex retorted, "so that idea is out!"

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"So lets start again," Lex smirked, "why are you being so nice to me officer Kalakaua?"

"Well because it's not fair to brush you aside and not give you a chance," Kono stated. "It doesn't mean I trust you." she added and waved a finger in his face, "but you may be able to earn that. At the end of the day, when McGarrett gets back, you'll really have to prove you belong here and if you can get a few of us on your side you may have a fighting chance."

"A chance at the family that I've clearly disrupted," Lex sighed as he kicked a piece of trash that ended up in his path.

"What happened?" Kono asked.

"I almost over stepped my place and I think I really screwed up with Chin," Lex sighed again.

"Well maybe with this case you can save yourself." Kono smiled.

"Are you going to be my only friend on this god forsaken island?" he asked mockingly and yet there was something serious in his eyes.

"You know Danny hated it here when he got here, but now he's kama'aina" Kono laughed. "Don't tell him I said that." she warned. "Hawaii will grow on you."

Lex rolled his eyes, "I don't think people understand what gets left behind. It's catching up with me."

"Are you from a big family?" Kono asked as she continued to walk in a circle around the statue with the young man.

"Huge," Lex laughed. "My father is Russian and he used to be very proud of it. My mother…well she's Greek…so very, very Greek. She's almost _Lambed_ the Russian right out of my dad and I think he's ok with that. I think he almost believes he's a born again Greek. The last name kinda foils my mother's family domination plans, but the Greek take over is very well rooted in our every day life."

"Greek?" Kono laughed.

"Yeah, you know the movie _My Big Fat Greek Wedding_?" Lex asked, "It's kinda like…a lot like that…exactly like that." he sighed but laughed to himself as he thought about it.

"Sure it is, how many Nicks are there in your family," Kono joked.

"Immediate or extended?" Lex asked.

Kono laughed but the look that she was met with made her jaw drop.

"My brother's name is Nikko because my mother had to have a Greek child if my father got a Russian Alexander. My first cousin on my mother's side, from her brother, is Nicolas, my other first cousin on my mother's side, from her sister, is Nikki, and surprisingly, my first cousin on my father's side from his sister is Nicolai. And then there are ten other first cousins alone." Lex stated using his hands to emphasize his point. "And there are many, many second and third cousins to count too."

"You're pulling my leg," Kono stated.

"Oh I wish I were," Lex said and stopped, cleared his throat and then spoke again. "'_What do you mean you're moving to Hawaii_?'" he screeched, "my mother squawked when I told her my good news." He laughed, "'_how many good Greek girls are you going to find in Hawaii_?'" he squawked again.

Kono laughed.

"Babies, lots and lots of little Greek babies…blah, blah, blah…you know," Lex laughed, "I'm well on my way, not a young man anymore, its about time I met a good Greek girl and we started repopulating the universe for the Greek take over."

Kono clutched at her sides she was laughing so hard, "you are probably better off here." She stated trying to suppress her giggles.

"You would think so but trust me; if I stay too long the invasion will take root." Lex warned with a smile, "And Hawaii won't know what hit it. How many Greeks do you know?"

"None," Kono stated after thinking for a moment.

"I'm Greek; therefore, you all of a sudden know one Greek man…the take over has started! Before you know it there will be more of us; run!" He joked.

"Feel better?" Kono asked as they ended their pacing around the statue and looked up at the façade of the palace.

"Yeah, thanks Kono," Lex smiled. "We should get to work."

"You've got a lot to prove," Kono winked and walked with the young man back into the Five-O bullpen.


	17. The Passing of Time

**A/N: Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments. I love them. Thank you, thank you to those of you who are just reading and not commenting. You mean a whole lot to me too!**

**So this chapter is a little out of the ordinary. I know I need to have some large chunks of time pass in the deployment so I will be doing a few of these chapters where Five-O handles a case here, or an event of some kind, just so that the time lapses and we can believe that things are happening for everyone. Hope it works out how I planned, tell me what you think of the idea.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 17: The Passing of Time

The second case of Lex's career with Five-O was much slower moving then the first. The body was dumped in a remote location and was in an advanced state of decay when two hikers stumbled across the mess of bones and clothing. It took time for the investigators to process the scene; much of the evidence was destroyed by the elements and simply the passing of time. Lucky for Five-O the body was identified, through dental records, as a twenty two year old university of Hawaii student who had been reported missing by her mainland parents a month before. Her name was Lydia Cane and it was now up to Lex to give comfort and closure to the now grieving family.

Max placed the death at about six weeks prior to the body being found, but the missing person's case was being handled by HPD. The only reason the body dump was handed over to Five-O was because of the bullet found in the victim. HPD investigation had found the girl to be a bit of a partier. Her marks at school were mediocre and she was known for skipping her classes so often that people didn't really suspect her missing until several weeks had gone by and then the missing person report came out when the girl hadn't returned to her parents for the spring break like they had planned.

Krychuk dove into the case, had begged Danny to give him a chance and so Danny released the case into the Rookie's hands.

"Prove to me that you are worthy of these high profile cases and the praise and acclaim I'm hearing from your former supervisors," Danny had stated as he passed the file back to Lex after the debriefing.

"I won't let you down Detective," Lex had answered and rushed off to his tiny office to get started.

Krychuk worked diligently with HPD, putting in exhausting hours in the investigation and talking Danny through his findings. Danny played devils advocate for the most part testing Krychuk's resolve, his procedures and questioning the evidence until Krychuk recovered the girls lap top, not from the crime scene, which they found to be an off campus locations that the young woman spent most of her time, getting high on meth and prostituting herself to pray for it. On the computer, which Krychuk and Chin tracked down using the girls IP address that they managed to locate from emails sent to professors and other instructors at the university of Hawaii, they found links to a larger drug organization but when they raided the location, which had now been determined as the primary crime scene, they found it abandoned of people or drugs but it had clearly been a drug den before the killing. DNA evidence recovered at the scene placed the victim in the location and the amount of the woman's blood told them that this was indeed the place where she had been murdered.

The computer was retrieved at the drug den and from there the crime lab team found blood and items that were reported missing by the family of the victim. The case started to pick up again with this location and the evidence within it. From the computer, Chin was able to retrieve communication with two men in particular that just seemed to disappeared after the body was found. Both men had been corresponding with the victim over a long period of time. Cell phone records backed up the evidence that they had been in contact with the victim up until the time of her death, but both men could not have been more different.

The first man a fellow student, two years older than the victim, was determined to be the victim primary boyfriend and though he had been in contact with her up until the day she died, he had not reported her missing sooner. Danny and Lex took the young man into custody for questioning in the murder after finding he had a criminal record for committing a pair of armed convenient store robberies. Unfortunately the weapon was still locked up in evidence storage on the island and after pulling it and running it for good measures they ruled it out as the murder weapon. The young man did, however give them insight into the second suspect; telling Danny and Lex that there was another man in Lydia's life that was very controlling, who had gotten her hooked on the meth to the point of absolute dependence on the substance and who used her as a prostitute so she could pay for the drugs. The first suspect also told them that Lydia was terrified because of the threats of this man and had hoped that if she could get away to the mainland on holiday her parents may be able to protect her and she wouldn't come back to Hawaii ever again. When asked why he'd not called her in as a missing person, the first suspect admitted to being the only other person in the loop regarding the plan to flee and he knew that Lydia's pimp was calling her back to work while the vacation season was picking up. He was told not to contact her while she was working because it would raise suspicion and so he never called but followed her instead, and found the location. He blamed himself however for the terrible turn out because within the first week he'd gone to the brothel house, posing as a perspective client and when Lydia was called forward for him the knowledge was written all over her face. They argued as he was taken to her room and he was then kicked out by the second suspect, at gun point. In the end of their interrogation, the first suspect was certain that it was his fault because he placed the suspicion in the pimp from the beginning, but he could not be tried for the murder because it really wasn't his fault and he had an alibi for the hours the surrounded Lydia's death. He had been writing a physics exam at the university for four hours that same evening.

As days on the case turned to weeks and the weeks turned into a month, Krychuk kept at the investigation like his life depended on it, and it did in a way. Danny was impressed with the Rookie's dedication and determination. By the end of the sixth week of the investigation the second suspect had surfaced at another suspected brothel and drug den. The location was hit in a raid with Danny and Five-O leading the charge and the suspect was apprehended along with drugs, money and prostitutes. On his person, the second suspect was carrying a gun and after the forensic investigation it was determined to be the murder weapon. A lengthy interrogation, with Danny yelling, ranting and accusing, and Lex watching in awe and amazement at the Detectives methods and some of the methods Danny was borrowing from Steve, finally exhausted the suspect to the point that he just gave up, slipped up in the circles of questions Krychuk and Williams through at him in rapid fire and he cracked; admitting to the murder.

"Good job Rookie," Danny smiled when the case was finally wrapped up and the family had been given closure. "That's one under your belt. Let's see if we can't get you on another one." He added and handed off the paper work to be completed.

Lex took the compliment graciously and fell into completing the paperwork to get started again on whatever his commanding officer could get for him to work on next.

Kono winked at him as he passed her office in his hasty retreat to his over, and for a moment, everyone on the team felt good about the new rookie.


	18. Camaraderie

**A/N: Hey everyone! I'm Back and hopefully Summer will help me really get back into writing and finishing this story and my other two H50s. I'm really sorry about the long wait. It's been a really bad time for me. I wont tell you all that now but I have placed another Authors Notes at the end of the chapter to explain it. If you don't want to know, I understand, that's why I put it at the end.**

**So with everything that happened, I find this chapter really kinda reflects how I am feeling. It really is filler though. More to come soon, excitement and anxiety, I pretty much have it all planned to the end now. So for now enjoy Chapter 18 and stay tuned for more!**

**P.S. I really miss you guys! Thanks for all the crazy awesome comments! I have returned to writing because of you guys! I love you all!**

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 18: Camaraderie

Danny, Chin and Kono sat together in the quiet bullpen as their case came to a close. Krychuk had done well taking point on the case. He had worked hard, as any rookie should, and he had proved to Chin and Kono that maybe he could make a good detective. Danny was still unsure about the young man, not because of his detective skills, but because he still got a really bad vibe.

"You have to admit he did well D," Chin said as he watched the thoughts moved across Danny's face, "you still aren't convinced are you?" he asked after Danny remained silent.

"How can you tell?" Danny asked with a sigh and a roll of his eyes.

"You'd make a terrible poker player!" Kono laughed, "Your face gives it all away."

"It's true, he did well, but this is one case, one lucky break."

"Lucky break, he worked his ass off for this case!" Kono stated.

"And he's going to have to keep it up through all the cases if he wants to gain our trust." Danny said casually as the doors to the office opened and Krychuk walked in with a case of beer and a pizza box.

"I figured you'd all still be here," Lex smiled and placed the pizza box on the table before them.

"We have nowhere else to be," Danny sighed, "not yet anyway."

"It's true, it's just weird hanging out at Steve's without Steve." Chin laughed.

"And none of us have adequate space at our placed," Kono stated sarcastically.

"Pardon my frankness, but I believe it's because you are all work-a-holics." Lex joked.

"Yeah that is probably the reason," Danny sighed and accepted the beer that Lex had passed his way.

"Mind if I join you?" Lex asked before he sat down.

Chin and Kono nodded their heads and offered up a seat.

"What brings you back here at this hour?" Danny asked. "You're off the clock."

"Well, as I am new to the island and I've done all that I can think of as a tourist to learn about the islands, I've decided that I could spend my time in a much more productive way; rather then sitting in front of my TV watching the same old crap hour after hour. Needless to say, I haven't really met anyone other than you guys. So, here I am. I was going to brows the databases for some new cases to familiarize myself with what Five-O really is all about." Lex answered as he stood, walked to his office and came back with a stack of complete files.

"These are all my files," Danny stated

"You're my commanding office, I need my paper work to be just like your paper work or it's not how it should be. Also, these cases were quite interesting and I need to be familiar with the kinds of cases that Five-O is going to be put on." Lex smiled.

"You're just going through Danny's cases?" Chin asked suspiciously.

"No, I'm starting with Detective Williams first, then you and finally Kono, if I get the time. I need to develop continuity and the best way to do so is through observation, research and a little light reading," Lex answered and mockingly slammed the largest, thickest, file down on the table.

"Oh man you are so green Rookie." Danny laughed. "You learn the job on the job, not through research and reading. Anything is possible in theory, but theory really doesn't apply when you're staring down the barrel of a gun or getting shot on your first day."

"Well I made it through my first two months unscathed," Lex shrugged, "is that luck or just being prepared?" Lex asked.

"Luck!" Kono, Chin and Danny stated together.

"Luck because you haven't met our trouble magnet, Commander McGarrett." Danny smiled.

"Be prepared to be injured within the first day of knowing him." Kono added. "Or you'll be the bait and you will have to hold your own to get out."

"You guys are pulling my leg," Lex stated skeptically.

"I met Steve when he was young, before he became the walking embodiment of trouble," Chin explained, "but Danny was shot on his first day with Steve, and Kono was sent into a drug den and arms dealers head quarters where she had to take out three guys on her own before Steve crashed a semi-truck through a wall as a distraction."

Lex's eyes grew wide as Danny rolled up his sleeve to show off his scar.

"Trust me Rookie, you are going to have to learn to hold your own, be a little crazy and have a lot of ingenuity if you want to survive on Five-O." Chin explained

"And be prepared for shark tanks, hand grenades and high speed chases on land, in the air and on the water." Danny added.

"In the air, did you just say high speed chases in the air?" Krychuk gasped.

The three Five-Os nodded.

"How is that even possible?" He asked.

"It happens."

"Holy Crap, who is this Commander McGarrett? He sounds insane," Lex asked in shock.

"He's our Super SEAL." Kono said and emotion came into her voice.

"He's the best boss I've ever had," Chin stated.

"He's my brother, my best friend and my backup." Danny said with conviction.

"I'm sorry he's gone, and I can see why you wouldn't want me here. I really am the fifth wheel." Lex said sadly.

"We've adapted to fifth wheels before. We know it's not your fault." Danny said. "But it's our job to be hard on you to get you ready for Steve."

"I'm going to need months of training to deal." Krychuk stated fearfully. "You're right, I'm so green."

"Don't worry; we've got your back." Kono laughed and sipped her beer.

"So how long have you been a team divided?" Krychuk asked after a bite of his pizza.

"Two months, one week and three days," Danny sighed. "He left the Friday before you arrived.

"But that would mean the Governor really was looking to add someone to the crew, because the job posting was up about a month before I was called to move to Hawaii." Krychuk explained. "I arrived here the Monday, a week before I started."

"We were thrown into a case that same day," Danny said thoughtfully. "We wrapped it on the Thursday and Steve left Friday morning."

"How long did you know he was leaving?" Krychuk asked.

"A week," Danny sighed, "he learned of his deployment the Friday before he left."

"What a coincidence," Lex stated contemplatively.

"I don't believe in coincidences," Danny said with a shrug.

"And do you know how long he'll be gone?"

"As long as it takes," Kono quoted Steve.

"That's very vague, and oh so military," Lex laughed.

"Navy," Danny corrected.

Chin raised an eyebrow.

"Don't start with me, I know the difference. I just play dumb to annoy McGarrett!" Danny scolded.

"Has he left like this before?" Lex asked.

"Not on deployment," Chin answered.

"He's left on moronic, selfish, missions without telling anyone or by leaving notes, but no, never deployed like this or for this long." Danny sighed.

"Do you have any contact?" Lex asked.

"Very little," Kono sighed.

"We know he was heading out to sea and then to Korea, but that was the last we heard, and that was almost two months ago. He can't give us true particulars about the case." Danny explained.

"Well I would imagine not, top secret, national security and all that jazz." Lex stated with an understanding nod.

"Pretty much," Kono sighed and sipped her beer again.

"I can't imagine what it must be like," Lex said sympathetically as he looked across the table at Kono.

"It sucks. It's like an open wound that just will not heal." Kono said. "People say time heals but I'm telling you this just get harder every day as we don't hear from him."

"I'm sorry to bring it up," Krychuk stated.

"It's not your fault," Danny said, polished off his beer and leaned back in his chair, "I'd be suspicious if you didn't ask about Steve. He will be your commanding officer when he gets back."

"This is true, and I thank you for the lesson. I will try my best to be prepared for his return," Lex smiled.

"It's going to take more then a pep talk from us," Chin laughed.

"Oh, I believe it," Lex smiled, "I'm going to go home after this and start researching navy SEALs."

"More research?" Danny smirked and lifted an eyebrow.

"I'd be better signing up for marshal arts classes and spending every waking moment at the shooting range, wouldn't I?" Lex asked.

Danny nodded.

"You might also like to try running up Kokohead every morning." Chin stated.

"Ok," Lex said as he pulled his note pad from his pocket.

"If you aren't a good swimmer I suggest some lesson," Kono added and Lex wrote it down.

"Also HPD offers a defensive driving course," Chin said as he started naming off additional qualification that he knew HPD ran frequently, "as well as the foot pursuit course, the new technology course, and the weapons course."

"You might also like to pick up another language and take some forensic science, computer programming and medical sciences," Danny added with a smirk.

"Do I really need all this?" Lex asked after writing down Danny's suggestions.

"My suggestions are more for transitional purposes if Steve totally kicks your ass, at least with my suggestions you might be able to get out and get another career." Danny smiled.

"Save your self, it's too late for us," Kono joked.

Lex rolled his eyes and laughed then his cell rang.

"Sorry guys I have to take this, its my big fat Greek mother," Lex winked at Kono, "and for the record Detective Williams, I speak fluent Greek, and Russian, but according to my mother Russian isn't a real language, its all based in the Greek, just like English, French, Spanish, Italian..." He added and dashed off to his office.

"What's so funny?" Danny asked and caught the giggles from Kono.

"You have inside jokes with the rookie already, Rookie?" Chin asked and raised and eyebrow in suspicion to his cousin.

"I guess I do," Kono answered as she gained control of her laughter, "he's Greek."

"Krychuk sounds more Russian than Greek," Danny stated.

"His father is Russian, his mother is Greek and she is determined that Lex should meet a good Greek girl and have lots of little Greek babies. She ignores the Russian completely." Kono explained.

"Ah…like the movie?" Chin laughed.

"He says it's exactly like the movie." Kono giggled, "I want to meet his mother to see if she can tell me how the root of my name is Greek," she joked.

"I feel so sorry for that guy," Danny smirked, "if there is anything worse it's a big fat _Italian_ mother."

"Don't let yours hear you talk like that," Chin scolded.

"Maybe the rookie isn't all that bad," Danny winked and stood. "Alright, it's getting late and I want to call Grace, I'm outta here." He added and stood to walk away.

"Send our love," Kono smiled.

"I always do," Danny said over his shoulder just before the doors closed behind him.

"He's not convinced," Kono sighed when Danny was out of earshot.

"His poker face will always give it away." Chin shrugged. "But he may be coming around to Lex, and the rookie is getting on better."

"So you are convinced he might make a good detective?" Kono asked.

"Maybe one day," Chin smiled.

"I have this sudden urge to watch a movie," Kono smirked.

"Should we ask the rookie to join us?" Chin laughed as he brought Netflix up onto the computer system and sought out the Greek inspired movie.

"Nah, let's let him walk in on the excitement."

"It might make him homesick."

"He'll laugh out loud!" Kono stated and almost snorted she laughed so hard.

"Alright, pass another beer Cuz," Chin chuckled and settled in for the entertainment.

**A/N: As promised, here is the reason for my absence. **

**In December my father went into the hospital voluntarily for a stem cell transplant. For the following five months I can honestly say things were not smooth sailing. His immune system was compromised so that the transplant would take. He suffered some rejection that is treated with drugs that suppress the immune system even more. He was doing well through March and April but in May because of his immune system he became infected with a virus and his body began shutting down. My brother and I rushed to his bed side in May, his doctors told us there was nothing more that they could do and so he was sent home to the hospital closest to us. He passed away on May 18th. I am only now trying to get back to normal, though I don't really know what normal will be. I hope that summer will provide some time to heal but I miss him every day and it has been very hard to try and concentrate on other things. I was hoping that writing would help me escape, but I am too easily distracted so it has taken a long time for me to actually try and write. He passed away a month ago today…it still feels like yesterday…**


	19. Too Late

**A/N: Thank you everyone for all the wonderfully kind comments and all the support. It means so much to me. Yes this is a very hard time and lots of things are taking a lot to get used to again, but I am trying to stay positive although I miss my dad every single day and I cry a lot, things are okay for now. Thank you a million times for all the sympathy and wonderful fellowship that you have all shared. You truly are the best sorts of people and I love you for it!**

**So here is another chapter. I know everyone was missing Steve, so hear is a little glimpse into his side of what is going on. **

**Enjoy.**

Chapter 19: Too Late

"Damnit!" Steve stated as one by one areas of the hanger were cleared and he stepped out into the midday sun of North Korea.

"Is everything alright Commander?" one of his fellow SEALs asked.

"We're too late, they aren't here." Steve stated angrily.

"But they _were_ just here. The equipment and weapons were left behind." The SEAL stated.

"We have to process this scene and start tracking Wolt again. Set up the command center, get me Admiral Winchester on the satellite link, and call in the investigation and intelligence teams. We're staying here until we have come up with some answers or until they double back to collect their equipment."

"Do you think they will?"

"If they are stupid yes, they will double back, but we are dealing with one of the most violent weapons dealers in the world. He's not that dumb, he'll get his hands on other weapons, but maybe these weapons can tell us another story. Wolf and his thugs are probably completely out of the country already," Steve sighed.

"We'll find him Commander."

Steve nodded and walked along the outer wall of the hanger on his own; leaving his team to get to work and so he could clear his mind and push the horrible images that this place brought back out of his head.

Unlike his first visit to this hanger, Steve was well protected and in charge of the situation. The building was the same but it had clearly changed hands. There was no sign of the torture and murder of Jenna and her fiancé, David. The chains that had strung Steve to the ceiling were gone and the rooms were filled with supplies, equipment, electronics and weapons, but the hanger had been deserted when they arrived. The tracks from the vehicles were fresh, maybe days old, but not more then a week. They really were right behind Wolt and he had left in a hurry.

"Someone tipped him off," Steve sighed to himself as he walked around the perimeter of the complex and watched as his men buzzed around like little bees. "But who could know?" he asked himself.

As the afternoon progressed and the command post was set up, and more troops arrived on the scene to take over the land once and for all, and Steve made his presence as Commander know; barking out orders and demanding that Wolt be tracked now that they had verified forensically that he had been in the hanger only days before.

Much like the task force, Steve and his naval counterparts processed the scene, collected evidence and packed up anything that might give them answers when tested and studied. There was something familiar in the investigation and yet there was a gaping void for Steve as he moved around silently monitoring what was going on around him.

Finally, he found his way into the hanger once more and sat down in an area that had been stripped of all evidence and cleared to make a space for him to work. It was a little makeshift office in a space that he had once been held captive, and in a way by staying in the location and reclaiming the hanger so as to stop any illegal activities every occurring out of this place again, Steve felt like he was being held captive by the job, and the distance and secrecy that was put between himself and Danny.

Silently he reached into one of his uniform pockets to where he kept the envelope from Danny and stared at the sealed edge.

"I could really use you now, partner," Steve said to himself and opened the envelope for the first time.

Inside Steve found a list written in Danny's neat script and entitled 'Things I've learned from a Navy SEAL'. Danny was a genius and as Steve methodically read through the pages, every lesson brought him back to a case or just a moment in the two years that had changed his life forever. Things like, 'if at first you don't succeed, use a hand grenade,' or 'never enter a building the same way twice, it looses the element of surprise; only boring people walk up stairs, not Navy SEALs'.

Steve kept reading until he could hardly catch his breath from laughing. Everything on the list had happened and yet, in true Danny Williams' humor, it seemed new and entirely absurd. Then as the list drew to an end Steve couldn't help but smile. The bottom of the page brought him back to their first meeting. 'if a Navy SEAL tell you to do something on the count of three you do it and don't argue because you risk becoming the partner of said Navy SEAL; all while loosing your hair, your crime scene and your dignity, but its all good'.

"Is it really all good?" Steve asked with a chuckle and kept reading.

"On the count of three, turn the page over Steve!" the note read, "One, Two, Three…"

On the back of the last page Steve found a new title. It read;

_Three rules to being good partners. _

He smiled to himself, knowing that he and Danny had become the best of partners. Out of the sparks and the gun fire of their first few days together, something had happened that bridged the gap between their two lifestyles and made them the best of partners and the best of friends. Steve had never felt the closeness that he felt with Danny, with his naval counterparts. They trusted each other. They worked together, but at the end of the day were they really friends? Steve through long and hard, before reading Danny's rules, and wondered how a good partnership and friendship came out of the ashes of having Danny shot on the very first day. When he couldn't possibly imagine what Danny might have to say, he continued reading.

_ One, never leave mad: hash out all your differences in the car to get them out in the open so that when you need to have each others backs your not distracted, and you will not be second guessing your decisions to help each other out. _

_ Two, know your partner as well as you know yourself and the trust will be forever: Something strange happens when you meet that one person that is so like you and so different all at the same time. We believe in the same thing, justice, and we know how to get there. We may have different methods, but they compliment each other in ways that people who have trained and known each other in the work force could never understand. We are balance. We are trouble. We are trusting. We are different. _

_ And finally, three, no matter what happens or where ever you end up, never forget that you have someone covering your ass: I don't care that you are millions of miles away, or that I am here without you, we are together because we are so alike and our minds, though completely different on some subject, know how to achieve the ultimate goal. Just ask yourself, what would Danny do in this situation, and maybe my methods will give you the new perspective you need to accomplish what is right in front of you. I promise to tackle the perps and strap baddies to the hood of my car with bungee cords just for you, because I know that's what Steve would do._

"Good rules Danno," Steve sighed and glanced down at the very bottom of the page.

_I'm with you if you need me, no matter where you are!_ Danny had written and signed not Danny or D, but Danno and with that the letter was finished.

"You were right Danno, I did need this," Steve said out loud to himself, folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope and then stored it away in the pant pocket where it would remain for the rest of his deployment. Then he sat back in the chair, at the desk that had been set up for him, and asked him self 'what would Danny do'.


	20. Kono's Investigation

**A/N: Hey everyone! Here is another update. Just to make a little connection between Steve and the rest of his team. Hope you like it. From here on out, things are going to get more exciting, I promise!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 20: Kono's Investigation

Another quiet weekend on the island of Oahu found the Five-Os busy with their own lives. Danny had Grace all weekend, which was rare for him. Chin and Malia spent their weekend like married couples ought to and Kono, though still feeling Steve's absence, spent her weekend with her new boyfriend, her old love the ocean, and multiple police databases. Krychuk did whatever he wanted to do and the team didn't care as they still had not become close enough to spend additional time with the new Rookie, but by Monday morning they were all back in the office and ready to work.

"Why is it that when we have a quiet weekend to ourselves, I always get bad new on Monday morning?" Danny huffed as he tossed another case file down before his team.

"Because the Crazies know that the proverbial parental consent aren't paying attention so they think they can get away with shit!" Chin mocked.

"It's not my job to babysit the whole island!" Danny stated.

"We should have called the task force the 'babysitters club'!" Kono mocked.

Danny rolled his eyes.

"So what is so special about this case?" Lex asked as he flipped open the file that laid before him on the computer table.

"The body of the victim was found strung up to a garage rafter, right next to his sixty seven convertible, Camaro." Chin stated.

"Nice car," both Danny and Lex stated in unison.

"Defensive wounds on the body suggest that the victim was forced into the hanging rather then having committed suicide. The body is with Max right now. The reason we are on the case is because the victim is married to a Canadian minister and she had gone missing. They live in Hawaii for their holidays as he is originally from here, but she holds a seat at the provincial level in Ontario and she hasn't made contact with her office in over a week." Chin explained.

"If they are on vacation why would she check in?" Lex asked.

"The spring session started three days ago. She was supposed to be in her seat and wasn't. When her staff couldn't gain contact with her at their Canadian residence or at the house here in Oahu, they contacted Hawaiian authorities." Chin explained.

"So this is an international matter the Governor wants dealt with as quickly as possible to avoid international conflicts with our neighbours to the north." Danny sighed and mimicked the governor's tone, which he had heard for almost an hour before he had even left his apartment that morning. "Three days and we're just hearing about this now, she's probably dead!"

"We don't know that," Kono stated.

"We know the odds," Danny retorted, "I'll take the rookie to Max's, you two check out the house." Danny added and motioned for Krychuk to follow.

"Good luck," Lex said over his shoulder as he ran to catch up with Danny.

"You ready for some forensics Cuz?" Chin asked with a smile.

"Sure, but first I want your opinion on something." Kono answered and headed to her office.

"What you got Cuz?"

"I've been doing some extra curricular work," Kono answered, "going back to our weapons case. One by one I'm either testing or running the forensics on the weapons, and we're talking hundreds of guns and other illegal devices."

"Alone?" Chin asked as he raised his eyebrow to his cousin.

"No with Charlie."

Chin smiled accusingly.

"He's not my new boyfriend," Kono huffed.

"Of course he's not, I'd approve of that match and you never choose good guys," Chin mocked.

"You haven't liked a single one of my boyfriends; not even Ben."

"He was too hippy for a cop!" Chin stated. "What's up with the guns?' he asked trying to get back on track.

"Well aside for starting our own database for trafficking weapons, we've managed to painstakingly trace a few of the big, military, weapons back to manifests and shipments." Kono explained, "but that's not the interesting part, what is the most suspicious is that the weapons have probably not changed ownership since they were stolen or acquired by other means, and they are well traveled. We have weapons from Asia, Africa, Germany, but they all seem to come to a single organization and the end of their trafficking is with Schwartz and Bachmann; or so it seems. We have no evidence that Bachmann and Schwartz were in the business to traffic these weapons, but we also don't have any evidence of them planning to do anything with the weapons."

"So do you think that Schwartz was telling the truth when he confessed to Danny?" Chin asked with surprise.

"Not at all," Kono stated, "Bachmann and Schwartz aren't the masterminds in the operation, either of them. There is someone else supplying the weapons and I'm not sure that it's for resale. I think something else is going one." She explained. "My theory is that Bachmann and Schwartz are henchmen, they just store the weapons and take their orders from somewhere else. I believe they are stockpiling so that eventually their organization can have some kind of take over, or branch out into other business ventures, but I have no idea what that might be. All I can tell you are that the weapons go stagnant as soon as they get here and there is no trail to where they might have ended up had we not found them."

"Do you have any idea of where these men were taking their orders from?" Chin asked.

"One name has come up, but only twice, every other name has only appeared on its own. We get new names and it's a dead end every time, but Wolfgang Wolf has been mentioned twice." Kono explained.

"Could the other names be aliases?"

"I've checked, even made contact, most of the other names are legitimate in that they all have criminal cases involving weapons, but no, none of them are aliases."

"What about Wolfgang Wolt?"

"There isn't much I can gain access to through my channels without raising a red flag." Kono sighed. "But from what I can tell he's the big player, on multiple international stages. He has a multitude of followers and he's on every watch list that I could think of checking, but his information is sealed."

"We're going to need Danny to convince the governor to get us information and access." Chin said as he began to pace the length of Kono's office.

"Which might be hard seeing as we've closed this case already, and we don't have any real evidence, only speculation, to get it opened again," Kono added and stood. "Come on, we have the more pressing matter of a missing Canadian cabinet minister to find, the here and now to deal with, and we had better get out to that crime scene before Danny and Lex beat us to it." she added and stepped toward her door.

"You know Steve would have access in seconds," Chin said and followed his cousin.

"Yeah, but Steve's not here so it's up to Danny to work his magic."


	21. Finding A Friend

**A/N: Hey everyone, sorry this didn't come out yesterday like I'd promised, I just got really carried away writing this story and now it's almost finished so I am taking a break and updating it. On the bright side of things, I'm almost finished and I'm so happy where this story is going. On the down side, you'll all have to wait for the updates but I hope to have them coming often now that the story is almost done!**

**So for now, enjoy this chapter and I'll see you in a few days with the next!**

Chapter 21: Finding a Friend

Three more days on the case, the governor covering up anything he could to get Five-O out of the media spot light and into the field and finally they caught their break. Lex found a receipt to a gambling ring inside the sixty seven Chevy. Danny posed with Kono as a wealthy couple looking to do some gambling, although not as legitimate as the original group and then they managed to get in over their heads on purpose. They were taken to an underground operation, by the owners of the legitimate business, and then they found a link to a new ring in town. Danny and Kono's undercover led Lex and Chin to the same men who were holding the Canadian MP for ransom, although they were stupid and ransomed too far out of their means.

"Morons!" Danny huffed in the faces of the would-be criminals and personally escorted the Canadian to the hospital and then to the governors mansion where Danny handed over all the PR work and international dealings to the Governor and his staff.

Back at the office the mountain of paper work and the phone calls met Danny and the team and it was two whole days before the mess was cleaned up, the MP and her husband's body were sent back to Canada and the failed criminals were behind bars awaiting trial.

The debrief didn't happen until the following Monday and that evening passed with the four Five-Os sitting together at the closest dive bar they could find, sipping beers and marveling at the shear stupidity of the case.

The 'new' criminals had decided that gambling would be the quickest and easiest way for them to make a quick buck, because according to their statements, 'the house always wins'. What they hadn't counted on were the other, more qualified criminals who didn't take kindly to new comers on their home turf. In a mix of bad conversations and empty threats the suspects got in over their heads and mixed up the Canadians with another king pin and his wife. In the mix up, they ransomed the Canadian to the underground organization; claiming to have killed their leader who, in reality, took the ransom calls with his wife at his side. By the time the Five-Os had caught the case and pieced together the mistakes, the missing Canadian was all over the news. The king pin and his wife had gone into hiding but not before tipping off Danny and Kono, undercover and at one of their underground operations. In preparations for the raid, Chin and Lex called in HPD back up and set up their plan of attack, which wasn't needed as the would-be kidnappers realized they had been _had_ and surrendered in a lack luster, rather ridiculous moment as they hid behind the kidnapped Canadian and they came out of their 'secret' location to an army of cops waiting for them. In the end the 'new' criminals proved once and for all that crime never pays, as larger international kidnapping charges were laid and they made absolutely no money from their schemes and failures.

On the bright side, Kono and Chin were able to trace a few phone calls, put a lock on the underground gambling ring and Five-O were able to move in on the Monday morning to arrest the king pin and his wife, and put an end to another illegal operation on the island of Oahu. The beers flowed freely now in celebration that the case was over, and the following morning would return to the office and everything would be business as usual.

On Tuesday morning Danny was greeted by an overly active office phone and a new stack of potential cases to either send back to HPD or pick one out of the bunch to get started on.

Kono slipped into Danny's office, a placed he had remained all morning, at just about noon to get his lunch order and found him still on the phone. A few odd hand gestures shared by friends were sent silently across the room, and then Kono was waved into a chair to wait for the call to be over. Finally Danny sighed with exasperation and said good-bye to the Governor of Hawaii.

"What's on your mind, Kiddo?" Danny asked as he hung up his office phone.

"I have a couple of minor questions for you," Kono smiled and leaned forward passing a paper across Danny's desk.

"It's just a name," Danny stated.

"It sure is," Kono laughed. "A name that is suspiciously elusive on my end."

"Is this for an investigation I'm not aware of?"

"It's more of a side project." Kono confessed and Danny knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Having to do with the arms case?" Danny whispered.

"You bet Boss."

"I'm not the boss!"

"You are for now," Kono laughed at Danny's discomfort.

"So why is this guy of interest?" Danny asked trying to change the subject.

"Because this is the only name I've run into multiple times."

"How many times?"

"Three, as of today."

"With all those guns he's only been mentioned three times?" Danny asked skeptically.

"I've checked out every other name I've come across and they check out. But this guy is all dead ends, like high level security issues, dead ends." Kono explained.

"And you want me to see if I can weasel my way into some access?" Danny asked as he dramatically made faces and gestures toward his office phone.

"I just though that maybe, if the governor doesn't want to cooperate and because you are Steve's best friends, you might have an in with Steve's girlfriend and Naval Intelligence, and could get us access to top secret information like a Super SEAL." Kono stated with a hint of mischief on her voice.

Danny rolled his eyes, "the dead ends just happen to be those kinds of dead ends?"

"I'm afraid so."

Danny mulled over the idea, staring at the name on the paper and the thoughts crossed his face like the clouds in the sky. He clearly had issues with the idea, but at the same time he was curious.

"Also, I am heading out to get cheese burgers for lunch because Lex is talking up Washington, and Chin and I are going to school him in amazing burgers. Do you want to place an order, or should I just get you the usual heart attack in a box." Kono asked with a grin.

Danny checked his wall clock, snatched the paper off his desk and stood, "Although the heart attack sounds great right about now, both figuratively and literally speaking, I'll have to pass for today, but thanks for the offer Kono." He stated with a wink.

"Where are you going?"

"Lunch date," he smiled.

"With Gabby?" Kono asked teasingly.

"No, with Steve's girlfriend, Catherine," Danny stated, pocketed the paper and stepped out of his office before Kono could retaliate.


	22. Navy Blockade

**A/N: Like I've said in the last chapter's authors notes, I finished writing this story so I will be posting the chapters pretty frequently until they are all up! Hope you enjoy this one.**

Chapter 22: Navy Blockade

Danny leaned against the Camaro as he watched the gates and the bustle of the navy base for the woman he had been summoned to escort out for lunch. Catherine had called two days ago from somewhere out at see, had said that she wanted to see Danny and check up with them as she had one single day in Pearl before heading back out with the fleet. Danny agreed and now he was waiting for her to show herself. When she finally appeared she was still dressed in her dress uniform with heals and dark skirt, but the restrictive blazer had been left behind and her hair was down.

"Hey Danny!" Catherine stated happily as she hugged him, "Long time no see!"

"Hey Cat, you look good," Danny laughed, "so the SEAL sent you to check up on me did he?" Danny teased.

"Not at all, I haven't seen Steve in almost a month," Cat laughed.

Light conversation carried on all the way to the restaurant Danny had chosen and lasted until they were seated with their meals ordered. Then Danny was surprised to see Cat's demeanor change.

"You are here to check on me," Danny laughed.

"Not because Steve asked me to, but for my own peace of mind." Cat confessed. "Is everything ok?"

"Sure, I mean life goes on right?" Danny sighed.

"And do you trust the rookie yet?" Cat asked.

"Steve told you, didn't he?" Danny laughed, but there was annoyance on his tone. "I don't trust him, I don't want to trust him but he's a hard worker and he might make a halfway decent detective in twenty or so years, but there is just something about this kid that has got the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. Am I crazy to feel this way, or am I cautious?"

"Steve warned me about your intuition." Cat smiled, "I find it very honorable, and I can see how sincere you are about it, but maybe what you are feeling is anger for having him around when you would rather he be Steve."

"I'm feeling that on top of suspicion."

Catherine giggled to herself, "how is the rest of the crew?" she asked to change the subject.

"Kono has a new boyfriend but she's adamant its not Charlie Fong, but she wont introduce him to the group, so I'm suspicious about that, and I think poor Charlie is heart broken. Poor guy, he tries so hard to impress her, but she's an action girl and Charlie is a logic kinda guy. One day, hopefully, Kono will see what she's missing, or Charlie will find himself a good little scientist and settle down and make more little scientists to take over the world. Either way it could be interesting," Danny joked and Catherine heard the sincerity and the mocking in his tone. "Then we have Chin and Malia, and they are doing whatever newly weds do, and I just don't even want to think about that, but at the same time I hope that one thing leads to another and we have little Chins around. I need another father on the crew to commiserate with. Kamekona, is every the entrepreneur and is thinking about taking on a boat, but not just any boat, a dinner boat. He wants a paddle boat like you would find on the Mississippi, what can do a paddle up and down the north shore serving up his shrimp dishes and on which he could have live entertainment and a bouncy castle for the kids…not sure how that would work but if anyone can make it work its Kamekona. Max has found himself a piano concerto that has his fingers in knots and he's frustrated with it, but aside for the usual, mundane, we're all doing well. We all miss Steve terribly and we hope that some day the two of you can settle down."

"I meant with the cases," Catherine laughed.

"Well, you could have stopped me!" Danny chuckled, "at least before I made a fool of myself!"

"I love the way you tell stories, Danny, and I was happy to hear it. I'm sure when I see Steve next, he will be happy to hear it all too, minus the part about us," she stated with a blush, "but I know where his mind will wander and so I'd like to hear about how Five-O has been coping down one member and up one new rookie."

"We're surviving, we miss having Steve around, but we're doing what we promised we would. The rookie really is carrying his weight in the cases, and Chin and Kono are just spectacular. So I guess I can't complain. We've had some really ridiculous cases, but I know that Steve has been logging into our cloud site and reading up on them because we have a log of whoever checks in, so anything I tell you will be old news when you finally get it to Steve."

"But you guys are surviving and getting along, and I'm sure Steve will be happy to hear that."

"You'll see him again soon?" Danny asked.

"Probably," Cat smiled. "From the intell I'm privy to, his current mission has come up blank and he'll be coming to us and we'll be taking him and the crew back to the Middle East once we've left here. But you didn't hear that from me," She winked.

"Of course not," Danny laughed, "but it's good to know. I'm sure Steve is very frustrated if things aren't going his way."

"He'll be able to contact you from Kandahar, so you'll be able to be the judge of his frustration."

Danny brightened slightly at the thought. "I hope he does, we could use a pep talk."

"Trouble in Paradise?"

"Just some suspicions, we had a case that we closed but I don't think it's finished and we've been doing some digging on our own time."

"Sounds like something that Steve would do," Cat commented.

"Yeah a little, but the only person its secret from is Lex, and with Steve everyone is usually kept out of the loop until he absolutely needs us."

"But that is smart. The Rookie is new so if the case blows up in your face at least he'll get off." Cat joked.

"It's also because I think he'll go tattle to the governor and I just don't want to deal with that man more then I absolutely have to." Danny stated.

"Good call," Cat smiled, "can you give me any particulars, just to relay to Steve, or maybe I can give you a hand with it."

"Actually I was wondering if you might be able to help," Danny said honestly and pulled the paper from his pocket.

"Whoa, wait, Wolfgang Wolt," Cat gasped in shock, "What do you know about him?"

"Just that he slips through the cracks and we're met with dead ends every time we try to find out more about him. High level dead ends, but he's on the databases."

"Danny you need to stop looking into Wolt." Cat whispered seriously as she leaned in.

"Why, if he's trafficking weapons to Hawaii, it's my jurisdiction." Danny stated.

"Do you have actual proof that Wolt is here on the island?"

"No, but Bachmann and Schwartz are his henchmen." Danny answered and watched as Cat added the names to the paper, "Bachmann is dead." He added.

"Danny, Wolt is one of the most notorious and volatile dealers in the world right now, and he's extremely hard to get behind." Cat whispered. "I could get court marshaled for giving you that much information. You need to back off and let the higher forces deal with him."

"Is he what Steve is working on?" Danny whispered and tapped the paper, "just nod if yes."

Cat nodded and then snatched up the paper and pocketed it. "I can't help you with this, Danny, you have to understand. I just can't."

"I understand, but I can't let it go either."

"Be extremely careful."

"I will," Danny nodded; "have you found anything on Lex?" he asked trying to ease her discomfort.

"So far he seems squeaky clean and completely legit. From what I can tell, he's harmless." Cat answered glad to be on a new topic as their meal started to arrive.


	23. An Unlikely Ally

**A/N: Alright, this is the turning point for Kono and her case. Hope you like it. I want to know if anyone had any inkling as to who the unlikely ally would be. Did you expect it to be who it was? Leave me a comment if you were shocked, or even if you saw this one coming! Heehee.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 23: An Unlikely Ally

Kono left the office only moments after Danny because Chin, Kono and Lex all still wanted cheese burgers and fries that they could eat in peace without worrying about what Steve would say about the unhealthy delights. The whole idea of burgers was Lex's fault as all he could talk about were his favorite food trucks back in Washington and how much he missed the monstrous burgers that he claimed were the best in the whole world. Kono on the other hand begged to differ, telling Lex all about a tiny, little, hole in the wall burger barn on the island that used crushed pineapple in their patties as a binder, which made the burgers super juicy. Chin stood by silently listening, and trying to get some work done, to the two young people trying to one up the next and getting increasingly more hungry with every exchange until he just couldn't take it any more and decided Kono needed to put her money where her mouth was and go out and get burgers for everyone, and so she did.

The little shop was a favorite with the locals and so Kono wasn't surprised to see a line up all the way down the block when she pulled up. The line would go by fast, as she was already away, so she parked her Cruze and jumped in line to make her way to the one window, sliver of a shop, sandwiched between two large office buildings.

Kono watched the line ahead of her and around her as she could feel the crowd closing in around her, but she paid them little attention because this was the norm until the person directly behind her tapped her on the should and move into Kono's personal space, pressing something hard into her side.

"May I have a word with you officer Kalakaua as you wait for lunch?"

Kono spun only slightly, ready to see someone familiar, and afraid to make a scene or too sudden a movement.

"Now, now, I'm not here to cause a scene, I simply want to talk and get my own lunch," Wo Fat whispered in her ear but pushed a well concealed weapon into Kono's side with just a little more force.

"What makes you think I won't arrest you right now?" Kono hissed.

"You are extremely out numbered," Wo Fat smiled. "Two men before you and three behind me, and I already have my weapon drawn. But if you will give me a few moments of your time, I assure you, I do not wish to cause a scene. When I have said my peace I will let you carry on with your purchase."

Kono weighted her options and opted to listen to what the criminal mastermind had to say.

"In good faith," Wo Fat smiled and released Kono from the proximity to his weapon as he came to stand beside her in line and his men moved in closer behind them.

"Clearly you've been trying to get someone's attention, what do you want." Kono asked.

"You are right, I wanted to have words with you a few weeks back, believing that you were the most likely to take me seriously because McGarrett is conveniently out of town, Williams is a bit of a loose cannon and Kelly would do all in his power to arrest me. No officer Kalakaua, I just wanted to chat with you but the new kid on Five-O keeps taking up all of your time." Wo Fat explained conversationally. "I tried to get your attention outside the palace but you and Detective Krychuk seemed to be quite animated in your conversation and I did not wish to be rude. So I have been following you, waiting for the opportunity and hoping that I am not too late."

"What could you possibly want to talk to me about when you already seem to know everything?" Kono asked.

"Well yes, I do know quite a bit, but what I have to say is for your own benefit." He smiled. "I believe you've met a friend of mind, Johann Bachmann."

"Bachmann is dead."

"Unfortunately yes he is. He was a very good double agent for me."

"Was he killed because of you?" Kono asked.

"I fear that he was tortured to gain information about me. You see, I am in a certain kind of business and sometimes in business you make enemies, or you have to cut people from your organization. Its nothing personal, its just business, but some people take it very personally."

"Is that what you did by killing Governor Jameson, cut her out of the business?" Kono hissed.

"Her services were no longer needed." Wo Fat shrugged. "What I really need, or rather what my business needs is your assistance and I believe your business would be very please with the information I have to give."

"My organization does not side with criminals and terrorists," Kono shrugged, "or have you forgotten that you are the enemy."

"There are many enemies and many friends, the only constants are the circumstances." Wo Fat spoke in riddles. "For now, in this business venture I assure you I am a friend. I have a name to give you; the real man behind Johann's death. Have you heard of a man named Wolfgang Wolt?"

Kono's eyes grew wide.

"I believe that you have," Wo Fat smiled.

"He's a person if interest." Kono confessed.

"Indeed, at one time he was close to my organization. He was a second to Victor and Anton Hesse, but now with the brothers dead he has taken over their organization and he has a bit of a dislike for me and mine."

"Because you killed Hesse."

"Again, his services were no longer required." Wo Fat shrugged. "What I do know is his people, Wolt's people now, are trying to move into my territory; take over my business connections and I simply cannot have that, and that is why I planted Bachmann in their organization to monitor the situation. Someone found out that Bachmann was my man and he was tortured and killed to gain information and send a message. I believe that they are planning a very hostile takeover, and I don't believe that you wish to see that happen on your island, now do you Officer Kalakaua."

"So you are telling me this in retaliation?" Kono questioned.

"No, I'm simply conducting business as usual and would like to see the situation resolved quietly, instead of violently. I'm not asking you to do anything for me because I know that you will not, but the information that I am giving you will lead you to a murderer and ultimately whether I get to Wolt or Five-O does is good for my business. I would prefer for this to be resolved by the police, but if my organization does need to step in, I'm afraid many civilians will get caught up in the negotiations."

"Is Wolt on the islands?" Kono asked after a moment of contemplation.

"Not yet, but his second in command is."

"Schwartz?"

"Lord no, he's just a lackey and a cover. I don't know who is giving orders but I believe that Wolt is on his way to Hawaii to meet up with his second and to cause mischief for myself and the others responsible for Victor and Anton's deaths."

"Anton was killed in a convoy…"

"…Which was being supervised by the navy and Commander McGarrett; like it or not, Wolt is after Five-O as well." Wo Fat explained. "Here, take this, it is a photograph of Wolt. I doubt you have access to any of his files so at least this will give you something to run a comparison and facial recognition to." Wo Fat stated and pulled an envelop from his suit pocket.

"Why should I trust you?" Kono asked just as the men in front of her made it to the window to order.

"This isn't about me, or you, or the history I have with Five-O, its business." Wo Fat smirked, watching as his men obtained their order and stepped aside to let Kono place her order. "Enjoy your lunch Officer Kalakaua." He added with a smile and walked off with his five henchmen.

Kono ordered lunch for herself and the guys back at HQ, pocketed the envelop and paid for her order. As quickly as she had anticipated her order was up, handed out the window to her in paper bags and she rushed off back to her Cruze to get back to where she knew she would be safe.

**A/N: Yes Qweb, this is another foodie chapter…**


	24. A Brand New Case

**A/N: So Wo Fat caught you all by surprise! Awesome! Thanks so much for all the comments. They were great. I had a lot of fun reading them! Hope you like this chapter as much as the last! **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 24: A Brand New Case

After lunch, and Lex had fallen in love with a new burger; giving Hawaii the title for best burgers in the world, Chin escaped the confines of HQ to make and HPD run and Lex decided he would tag along. Kono was left alone with her secret information and the unwavering determination to get Danny's feel for things before she told her cousin what had happened.

Kono had managed, skillfully, to keep her agitation at bay through lunch by turning the conversation, every time she possibly could, back to the food. As soon as her cousin had left, however, she felt the full weight of what happen crash down on her. Her hands shook, she began to sweat, and then she became determined again. She dove into the work she knew would have to get done and on top of scanning in Wolfgang's photo, she went about tracking Wo Fat as well.

Danny returned from lunch an hour later and found Kono hunched over the smart table running a pack of database searches.

"What are you looking for?" Danny asked as Kono jumped.

"Oh god, you scared me!" Kono cried.

"Doing something you shouldn't be doing?" Danny asked with a laugh, "it must be really important if I was able to sneak up on you because I'm the loudest man on this team." He added with a wink.

"Actually, I need to talk to you." Kono stated nervously and dashed toward her office waving for Danny to follow.

"Okay," Danny stated as Kono shut the door to her office behind him. "What has you spooked?"

"Wo Fat got in line with me at lunch today." Kono confessed.

"He's back on the island?" Danny asked in shock.

"That's not the worst of it. He said that Wolfgang Wolt was coming here too and that he has it out for Five-O!"

"Why would he have it out for Five-O?" Danny asked as he fell into a chair.

"We arrested Schwartz, Steve killed Anton Hesse and we are responsible for putting Victor Hesse in jail, where he was ultimately killed by Wo Fat." Kono explained, "Now he either just wants all of us dead, or he wants to get back at Steve for killing his partners in crime. I don't know the whole story and Wo Fat seems to think its just business as usual."

"Do you have evidence that ties Wolt to the Hesse brothers?" Danny asked.

"Sort of," Kono sighed, "Wo Fat gave me a photograph of Wolt and then he just left with all his goons. I pulled up traffic and ATM cameras all along the root today and yesterday and the day before that, and Wo Fat has been tracking me to give me this information." Kono explained. "By the time I got back and put out the BOLO on the license plates I got and the make and model of the vehicles I saw Wo Fat leave in, it was too late. A about a half hour ago HPD found the SUV abandoned on the Poli Highway."

"Okay, so Wo Fat has disappeared again?"

"I believe that was his plan all along, but he knows that Steve isn't on the island and he knows about our rookie, so he's keeping tabs on us." Kono sighed.

"And you believe what he told you?" Danny asked skeptically.

"I didn't want to, but when I started running the picture through our databases, I got further with Wolt then before. Did you get anywhere with Catherine?"

"She told me to stop looking at Wolt because he's a very big fish and that there is no way she can help us on this. But, without actually saying anything I know that this is what Steve was called back for." Danny explained, "Did you find proof of Wolt on our island?"

"Not currently, but he had been here." Kono stated and walked back out to the smart computer. "Do these look familiar to you?" she asked and showed Danny surveillance shots from his first encounter with Victor Hesse.

"I arrested that guy!" Danny gasped seeing him self taking a guy down and hand cuffing the thrashing man.

"You did indeed and that was Wolfgang Wolt." Kono stated and zoomed in on the shot of Danny with the suspect. "He was booked under an alias, a really good one, and the alias is still active as well as several others that come up matching the photo, but his identity as Wolfgang Wolt is still elusive."

"Well I guess this is the connection with the Hesse's we needed. I want you to run that shot through every last database and watch list you can think of but only use the aliases to keep the higher powers off our tails. I want to know when Wolt comes back to Hawaii," Danny ordered.

"You got it boss," Kono stated and began typing again.

"I'm not the boss!" Danny sighed, "And I could really use Steve's expertise right about now."

"I know what you mean," Kono said sympathetically, "but maybe, just maybe, our intell will get Steve home sooner."

"Or it will get us in a lot of trouble." Danny said skeptically, "Either way keep it on the down low Kono, and don't tell the Rookie. I don't need him running off and tattling to the Governor."

"You think he would?" Kono asked.

"He was hired as a spy. Dennings wants his say in everything we do and Lex is just green enough to kiss all the ass he needs to better his career." Danny explained.

"I get it," Kono sighed, "but we're going to need him to have our backs if what Wo Fat told me is true."

"What did Wo Fat tell you?" Danny asked.

"He said that all those weapons were for a take over. Wolt is trying to move in on Wo Fat's business ventures here in Hawaii. The fire power was to back him up. If we don't stop Wolt, we may have a turf war on our hands with two of the biggest terrorists we've ever dealt with." Kono explained.

"We can't let it come to that," Danny sighed. "I want to know the moment Wolt is on this island. And don't worry Kono, I'm sure when push comes to shove, Lex will have our backs. It's what the team is all about." Danny said just before wandering back to his own office, leaving Kono alone with her top secret assignment.


	25. Alone But Not Alone

**A/N: Hello Everyone. What do we have here? Two updates in as many days? Aren't we feeling spoiled? Heehee. So this chapter is very Steve centered because everything for the past little while has been so Danny and the crew centered. I want this to feel like Steve is very frustrated and just looking for someone that he can relate to with no one from his Ohana really around. It is a filler chapter but I hope you like it anyway!**

**This Chapter has also been taken from my Vignettes from last year, so it if seems familiar that is why. It has been heavily reworked however, so hopefully you find something new in it.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 25: Alone but not Alone

Just as Catherine had said, Steve was back on the ship within a few days, but Intell hadn't uncovered any information or leads on Wolt's whereabouts. So Steve and his SEAL team were sent back to Kandahar to regroup and await further orders.

Steve however was impatient. He had gotten just enough information from Catherine to be incredibly worried about what might be happening back in Hawaii, but again, Admiral Winchester wanted him ready to be deployed at a moments notice and he couldn't go about telling people that his team back in Hawaii were also working on Wolt, especially when Danny was trying to keep that little piece of information from the Governor. Winchester, without any suspicions to warrant sending Steve back to Hawaii, wanted to keep Steve close to him. So Steve stayed on base, in Kandahar, awaiting new orders and running his team through drills to keep his mind from worrying about Danny, and the possibility that they were dealing with this very same case, and getting closer to it then Steve was.

To keep his mind clear, Steve walked through the rows upon rows of patients in the hospital that had been set up to treat the soldiers and civilians in Kandahar. They were no longer differentiated by their forces, they were just the injured, and they were the men and women of the army and the navy and all of the armed forces of the United States that had sent into the conflict. They were the victims of war and the survivors of it, and Steve was looking for the ones that he knew. Or maybe he was looking for someone that he didn't know, but in every one that he passed he saw a familiarity with something that he had left behind.

There was a father, clasping at a photo of his daughter. There was man who wore an engagement ring around his neck with a cross and a visible regret. There was a woman, proving herself to the world, to her family, to the man, that she was the tough one. There was the quiet entrepreneur who did what he had to do to survive. There was a doctor who was forced to look at the dead rather than the living. There was a woman caught in between the battle and the technology. There was a man looking for clues as to why humanity was so horrible. They were all the same and yet they were all different. No woman ever looked like Kono or Jenna or Lori and Steve thanked God for that fact. No man looked like Danny, or Chin, or Charlie, or Kamekona. No photograph but his own, the one he kept secretly in the pocket closes to his heart, looked like the little smiling Grace that he had left behind to do what he had vowed to do as a man of service. No doctors looked like Max, talked like Max and there were defiantly no impromptu piano recitals in the hospital unit like he was used to finding in Max's lab.

His family, his Ohana, he kept in his pant pocket, a fading Polaroid photo of the people that meant the most to him. He saw their faces every day, and prayed he would never see them in this place where everything seemed to turn to dust.

There were voice and tongues from many different states but there were no Dannys or Chins or Konos. There wasn't the jolly laughter of Kamekona or the threatening danger of the drug cartels and mafia bosses. There was only war, and sometimes Steve wasn't even sure he knew what war he was fighting.

"Sir, please help me," one patient cried out in pain and delusion as his eyes were covered and darkness had taken up his world, but Steve had stopped at the end of his bed. "Help me please I can't see."

"Soldier, you're safe, you're in the hospital. You'll be going home soon." Steve said.

"Matthew is that you?" the poor man called out and reached for something, anything.

"No, I'm Commander McGarrett, soldier," Steve answered.

"I can't see you, but you sound like my brother," The poor man stated and reached out for Steve again.

"You can't see because you've lost your eyes," Steve said softly as he took the man's hand and he sat down beside the bed.

"Everything is dark, I don't feel anything, but I can see my home town and the fields." The man said and held tighter to Steve's hand.

"Where are you from?" Steve asked.

"Tulsa Oklahoma," the man answered.

"And your name soldier?" Steve asked.

"Steven, Steven Bradley," the man answered.

"Are you army or navy?" Steve asked.

"Navy, Commander," Steven answered.

"Good man," Steve half smiled, "well, lieutenant, you'll be going home soon." He added as he looked around and saw the man's tags and his designation as an officer.

"I'm not much of a sailor anymore," Steven sighed. "So you can be as informal as you like." The sightless man said as his panic has faded away as he held tightly to Steve's hand. "Where are you from, Commander McGarrett?"

"Hawaii, Oahu," Steve answered.

"Are you in the reserves out there or, are you a full time Navy man?" Steven asked.

"I'm a reservist now, yes, I was a full time SEAL but I went back home when my dad was killed and now, I'm a detective with a special task force." Steve explained.

"That sounds very prestigious," the young man commented.

"It is. It's probably the best thing that ever happened to me." Steve smiled.

"Do they call you commander there as well?" the young man asked.

"No, they call me Steve."

"What a coincidence," Steven sighed as he relaxed into his bed.

"A coincidence that I should come here today and just happen to sound like your brother, mistake you for a soldier and not a sailor, and then tell you that we share the same name," Steve asked, slightly amused.

"Yes and no," Steven chuckled and his laughter was almost familiar, "that we are both sailors, SEALs, and that we've never met before today, but then again Tulsa and Oahu could be worlds away like Kandahar and Korea, or Paris and Pakistan."

"Before today I didn't believe in coincidences," Steve confessed.

"Neither did I, they take too much planning," Steven laughed.

Steve smirked to himself.

"I can hear you smiling, what is funny?" Steven asked.

"A very dear friend once said that exact same thing to me," Steve answered, "coincidences take too much planning, but planning from where?"

"Where ever you want it to come from, I suppose," Steven said contemplatively and felt Steve tense up. "Who is standing before my bed now?" he asked as he felt Steve release his hand.

"At ease sailor," Winchester stated. "I didn't expect to find you here Commander McGarrett. I came only for Lieutenant Bradley."

"I didn't expect to be here sir," Steve said and sat down at the bed side again, "but this sailor needed a companion and so I have taken up my post."

"Good lad, but you're time with Lieutenant Bradley will be short, you're stable enough to send you home to Oklahoma sailor, you're being discharged."

"Thank you very much sir," Steven Bradley stated from his bed and weakly tried to bring his arm up to salute his commanding officer.

"There is no need for that Sailor; you've served your time." Winchester stated and excused himself from the bed side.

"I hope you'll see your home again soon," Steven stated when silence had fallen in the hospital ward again.

"My mission is no where near complete. I'm stuck here until it is finished," Steve sighed.

"But you are worried."

"I am, I got news from home recently that has me unnerved, but even if I make contact with my friends, my partner and the rest of my team, what is going to make them take orders from a man who is halfway around the world and not fighting that fight with them there?"

"If you're partner is a good man, and a true friend, he will listen to you no matter where you are." Steven stated.

"You're right, but if my orders keep him in any way from protecting the people of Oahu, he'll disobey me."

"As he should."

"I agree," Steve smiled.

"You need to make contact with home. I release you from your visit; they need to hear from you."

"It was an honor to have met you Lieutenant Bradley." Steve stated. "If ever you find yourself in Hawaii, you'll find me with Five-O."

"The pleasure is all mine, and if you find yourself in Oklahoma, contact Daniel Cromwell-Bradley; Attorney and he will bring you to me."

"Daniel?"

"Yes, he's my Brother from another mother, literally." Steven laughed. "He was adopted into our family when he was an infant, his birth mother found him when he was in his late teens, but he always remained my brother and my best friend."

"Now there is a coincidence," Steve laughed.

"How so?"

"My partner's name is Danny (Daniel) Williams. We've only known each other for two and a half years, but I swear he is my Brother."

"A coincidence indeed." Steven stated and though most of his face was covered in bandages, a smile spread across it. "God speed my friend." He added.

Steve squeezed Steven's hand one last time before he stood and left the bed side, determined in that moment to find a way to make contact with home, if only to hear Danny's voice.


	26. A Promise Renewed

**A/N: I know so many of you are just so starved for a little Steve and Danny interaction in this story…so here it is. There is more to come, but I can't tell you anything else.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 26: A promise renewed

One after another, case after case started piling up and kept Danny and Five-O busy. They had spent weeks, after the Canadian case tracking an alleged serial killer, and then a human trafficking ring, and after that, threats against the governor started popping up. Two of the three cases worked out in their favor, but as one case encroached on the other, the serial killer struck again when Five-O was preoccupied with protecting their benefactor.

One day after closing the governor case with an arrest, Danny returned to the office before dawn to try and catch up on his paper work. He'd had an extremely sleepless night, getting up and pacing all around his apartment until he finally just decided to go to work and re-evaluate his approach on the case and his outlook on the investigation into Wolt.

Danny was just about to pull the new file Kono had started on Wolt out of his desk draw when his cellular phone almost vibrated right off the edge of his desk.

Danny caught it and answered, "Detective Williams," not recognizing the number that had come up on his ID.

"Danny, do not go after Wolt alone." Steve stated into his ear.

"How could you have possibly known about this? Are you in the building? Did you see me take the file out of my desk?" Danny asked in shock as he felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck.

"Danny, I'm serious, he's bad news!" Steve stated.

"And you're not the first person to tell me this!" Danny sighed. "You've seen Cat haven't you?"

"Yes, thank you for showing her a good time and worrying her half to death with your suspicions," Steve answered with a laugh.

"No problem," Danny sighed.

"Listen, I can't give you any information on Wolt but I need you to tell me everything you know about him."

"I know what Cat told you I know. I know what Kono has found thanks to your arch nemesis Wo Fat and I know that if he does show up on the island I have to make a move because he's after Five-O as well as Wo Fat, but also because I asked myself what would Steve do and the answer is you'd never risk innocent lives even if it meant waiting for the cavalry to come in, and my intuition is telling me that your people aren't prepared to send you home without absolute proof that Wolt is on the island. Am I right?"

"You're right," Steve sighed.

Danny sighed too, "Everything I know is on the Five-O cloud site. I'm sure you can access that through whatever secret internet connections and satellites you have, where ever you are. I'm not keeping anything from you Steve, I swear, I just don't really have a handle on what is going on myself. So check our stuff, run it through your stuff and get yourself home."

"Thank you."

"What if he does show up here, Steve, what do I do?" Danny asked pleadingly.

"You call for back up. You make sure you have multiple exit strategies and you promise me you'll stay alive!" Steve ordered as the helplessness of the realization hit him.

"I'll do what I can," Danny answered.

"Damnit Danno, promise me! You made me promise when I left, now I demand that you do the same." Steve ordered passionately. "It's bad enough knowing that we are working the same case, its worse knowing that I can't be there unless I have absolute proof to warrant the Admiral sending me home."

"I promise," Danny stated with high agitation in his voice.

"Do you have proof that Wolt is on the island or coming to the island?" Steve asked after taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

"No, not yet."

"And what is your intuition telling you?" Steve asked calmly.

"He's coming" Danny answered "If he's not already here."

"I have the same feeling," Steve sighed, "Were you really just pulling the file out of your desk? Isn't it like 6am on the island? Shouldn't you be in bed or at least yelling at me for waking you up?" he asked with a laugh.

"Yes, I was just pulling out the file, you physic you. Yes it's actually 6:17am on the island of Oahu and the sun is just starting to show itself. Yes I should be in bed but I'm clearly taking this filling the Super SEAL shoes way to seriously. And no, I'm not going to yell at you because you couldn't have woken me up because I never went to bed." Danny stated with an exhausted sigh, "It's actually really good to hear your voice." He added.

"Same to you," Steve smiled to himself. "What's got you bothered?"

"Do you really have time to be asking me about the mundane?" Danny asked in retaliation.

"Actually, I do, so please humor me."

"We just closed a case involving Dennings, while we were in the middle of a serial murder case and found another body just yesterday that matches the M.O of our profiled killer. While that is going on we are monitoring the island for an international terrorist to show up when it's convenient for him and I have to try and juggle that with not having you here, having a rookie on the team and a family life to boot." Danny spat sarcastically. "So, Doctor Phil, tell me why I can't sleep at night."

"I think your issues stem back to you mother," Steve mocked.

Danny laughed out loud at the absurdity of Steve's statement and realized just how much he'd been missing their day to day cattiness. "Oh yeah, I'm so the one with mommy issues McGarrett," He added with a laugh.

"In all seriousness, Danny, you need to keep your head clear in this game. You need to stay focused and you need to stay strong. I know you don't second guess yourself and don't start that now that I am gone. The moment we hear anything about Wolt, I'll be mobile again, and if your intell is correct, I'll be back on the island but I won't be able to help you and you won't know that I'm there." Steve explained.

"Don't worry, I get it." Danny sighed, "And I hope you guys get that intell before we do. I have a terrible feeling about this guy."

"So do I," Steve confessed.

"If I get any other information on Wolt, is there any way I'll be able to contact you to give you the news?" Danny asked.

"No, I'll contact you though, and Naval Intelligence is watching the island with their equipment thanks to your intell." Steve stated.

"But you guys still don't have a clue where Wolt is, do you?"

"No, we don't."

"So we're ahead of you on this game?"

"Danny, just be careful."

"I'll take that as a yes," Danny sighed, "good to know. Well the troops are arriving; we have a murderer to catch. I really have to focus on that right now, talk to you soon Steve." Danny stated as Lex walked into the office.

"Stay safe, Aloha Danny."

"Aloha Steve, you had better stay safe too!"

"I promised you I would didn't I?" Steve laughed.

"Yeah you did."


	27. Alias

**A/N: For all of you who do not trust Lex…here is a good reason for you not to! This is the beginning of the major action that will bring us to the end of the story. Sorry I'm going away and you'll have to wait till next week to get more.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 27: Alias

Another week in Kandahar put Steve really on edge. Nothing had come up, even though he and Catherine had put the naval intelligence on the island as a high priority location for Wolt to surface, and still nothing was coming up.

Steve stomped around, running himself and his men through exhausting drill, to make sure they were on their game. They went out on patrol with the regular forces but for the most part they stayed on the base just waiting; watching computer screens and seeing nothing in the information that flashed past their eyes that would help them in their mission. What Steve wouldn't do for a mundane car chase or an under cover operation just to get his mind off the terrible waiting and the feeling that he was missing something. Occasionally he would log himself into the HPD site, scroll through the Five-O activity on their Cloud, and then angrily close his connections because he was useless so far away, but the information he had found on there about Wolfgang Wolt was forwarded to Catherine who used it to the best of her ability, even though it wasn't proving useful at the time.

One day toward the end of his third week in Kandahar a pack of jets arrived on the airstrip, which wasn't odd, but it wasn't on the regular schedule either, so Steve, being bored and nosey, headed over to the air field to check things out. As he arrived, so too did Admiral Winchester and moments later Catherine came out of one of the hangers and was lead quickly across the field to where Steve was standing.

"Lieutenant Commander McGarrett, Lieutenant Rollins has some intell to share with you." Winchester stated as Steve saluted his commanding officers.

Steve stood silently waiting, but inside, his heart was racing. Was this going to be the news he'd been waiting days for, and if it was, why would Catherine come all this way when she could have just called in the intell?

"We'll take this back to base," Winchester stated before a clearly agitated Catherine could say anything.

"Couldn't you have just called in Wolt's location?" Steve whispered as he and Cat fell into a quick march behind the leading Admiral.

"This isn't about Wolt's whereabouts." Cat stated and fell silent again.

Moments later the two sailors stepped into the Admirals office, the guarding officers were waved away and Winchester sat down behind his desk.

"How certain are you, sailor, that Wolt will show up on the island of Oahu?" Winchester asked addressing his question at Catherine.

"We have no reason, at this time, to believe Wolt is heading anywhere near American soil sir." Catherine answered and kept nervously glancing toward Steve.

"Then why, may I ask, should I be sending my best men, lead by Commander McGarrett to an island that doesn't seem to be Wolt's intended destination? Why have you been so adamantly requesting the deployment of the SEALs to Hawaii?" Winchester asked.

"Because we still don't have anything conclusive on Wolfgang Wolt, it has been well over a month since Commander McGarrett was in Korea and it seems to us that Wolt has dropped off our radar completely, almost," Catherine confessed.

"Almost?" Winchester and McGarrett asked simultaneously.

"What I meant to say, sir, is that we don't know where Wolt is, but we have identified the identity of his second in command with the help of some intell from the very best of the best, sir," Catherine explained and Steve caught the hidden meaning.

"Do you have a name for us?" Winchester asked, "You will have to give me something concrete if you want me to send McGarrett and his team home."

"I have several names for you sir," Catherine stated, "he goes by many names but we believe that Sebastian Ludwig Smoltz is his birth names. Commonly, however, he goes by Ari Nicolai Kontos on the Greek side of his heritage and Alexander Cornelius Krychuk on the Russian. He holds citizenship in three countries under three different names and is legally an immigrant to America."

"What?" Steve gasped.

"Is something wrong sailor?" Winchester asked.

"Tell me it's not the same Alexander." Steve demanded, ignoring the Admiral all together.

"From what I was able to uncover, Alexander Cornelius Krychuk is an alias and the governor of Hawaii hired him to work with Five-O five and a half months ago." Catherine confessed.

"You have to send me back, those are my men!" Steve yelled.

"Calm down Commander, you've been in contact with your people before, let's not tip off Smoltz. Contact your people as you would any other time. Tell Detective Williams what we have uncovered and have him take Smoltz into custody for naval questioning. We wouldn't want any violence and as we are without any definitive proof that Wolt is heading for Hawaii I'll not be jumping to conclusions and sending you off. This situation can be rectified swiftly and quietly if we do our jobs correctly. There is no need to panic. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," Steve stated and stood as still as a statue but he was seething with anger.

"Very well, thank you Lieutenant Rollins you may head back to your unit as soon as transportation can be arranged. As for you Commander, I believe you have a phone call to make." Winchester stated and dismissed the couple before him.


	28. Welcome To Hawaii

**A/N: I know you all know that Lex is bad news, but our Five-Os don't know that yet. I am trying to make it seem like everything that has happened with both plots in this story are now happening at exactly the same time. **

**This chapter is putting the last piece into play before all the action starts~**

Chapter 28: Welcome to Hawaii

Another two weeks on the serial killer case and finally Danny and the team caught a break, tracked the suspect up the north shore and, after profiling the victims, the areas they disappeared from and the objects that the killer was keeping, Danny, Chin, Kono and Lex had a fairly good idea of who they were looking for. Up the north shore they traveled, trolling along some of the lesser known beaches when finally, on an over night patrol, Danny and Lex, but mostly Lex, got eyes on the possible suspect when he proceeded to follow another young couple along the beach, and back to their car, and then pointed a weapon out the window of his Jeep, Lex and Danny knew this was it and they radioed for Kono and Chin to back them up.

With back up on the way, Danny and Lex sprang into action before the killer could kill the woman with a single gunshot wound to the head. This was part of his M.O. He would kill the woman and take the man for torture and eventually would murder him as well. A shot to the hand that held the weapon, startled the murderer long enough for Danny to get the jump on him and then Lex met the man with a gun barrel aimed at his chest to stop the fight he was putting up again Danny.

Another long interrogation, DNA evidence that was gathered from the suspects Jeep and at last a confession was signed, with the suspect confessing to the murder of all eight victims, plus several others on the mainland. Contact was made with other police departments, cold case files were re-opened all over the country and at last families would be give closure and a massive trial would be mounted against the suspect apprehended by Five-O.

Pleased with his work, Danny let Lex take the case back to HPD to close it and do the final booking on the accused and the three original members of the team headed back to HQ.

"You have to admit he did a good job!" Kono smiled as she, Chin and Danny gathered around the smart table.

"Yes, and he's a damn good shot." Danny said with a nod. "He shot the gun right out of the guys hand without injury. I will admit to being extremely impressed, and he keeps his mouth shut while on patrol with me, and the icing on the cake is that I get to drive my own car." He added with a smirk.

"So are we okay with him?" Chin asked skeptically.

"I'm waiting for McGarrett to make my final decisions on the new Rookie," Danny smirked. "There is still something about him that has me on edge, but the kids a good cop and he's growing on me."

"Oh come on, a part of you likes him!" Kono laughed as a chime sounded from the computer she was leaning on.

"What is that?" Danny asked as the colour drained from Kono's face.

"I ran a facial recognition search this morning, just off a feeling," Kono answered and typed frantically. "Shit!" she stated, threw some street camera images around the room and the photo of a passport.

"He's back!" Danny sighed.

"Wolt arrived two days ago under one of his newer and lesser known aliases." Kono explained. "His passport was stamped at Honolulu international airport and look at this; he has resent scaring around his face." She added and brought up the new image, "he's trying to change his appearance."

"It's not good enough to fool our programs. We've got him!" Chin smiled, "what should we do now?"

"Use everything we have. Find out where Wolfgang has gone on the island and get me a location." Danny stated and pressed his phone to his ear.

"What are you going to do?" Kono asked.

"I'm doing what I promised Steve I would do. I'm calling in adequate back up, but I want to be able to move out as soon as the Rookie gets here. Find Wolt, I want him off my island now. And make sure you push everything to our cloud site. I may not be able to contact Steve, but at least if he's monitoring us, I can give him a heads up."

"We're on it boss!" Kono and Chin stated in unison and jumped right back into their work.

"I'm not the boss," Danny sighed once more and rushed off toward his office with his cell already pressed to his ear.

"No rest for the weary," Chin sighed as he worked beside his cousin.

"Do we ever rest?" Kono asked with a smirk.

"Nope," Chin answered. "And it looks like we're going to catch Steve's big fish."

"He's not going to be happy."


	29. The Flaws In Technology

**A/N: You wanted action? Well fasten your seatbelt because here we go!**

Chapter 29: The Flaws in Technology

"Jesus, Danny, answer your phone!" Steve yelled to his own little space where he paced and Danny's number went directly to voice mail again.

"Maybe he's working a case." Catherine stated as she typed at the laptop she'd set down on his desk and continued her work from this remote location.

"Something's up!" Steve stated and dialed Danny's office phone number this time, "he'd answer me, he'd always answer my calls."

"Maybe he's in the middle of a raid, or a call to the governor, or a big press conference." Catherine said trying to ease the panic that was starting to take over.

"No, this feels all wrong. Something is happening right now." Steve stated as the office phone went to voice mail once again.

5-0

"Danny, we've got him!" Kono stated as Danny pressed his cell to his ear and his office phone started ringing.

"I need a SWAT team ready to move out at my command!" Danny yelled into his cell and followed Kono out to the smart table, ignoring his office phone all together. "What do we have?" Danny asked as he walked out into the common area and turned toward the monitor, pocketing his cell.

"We have eyes on Wolt as we speak." Kono stated. "This is surveillance from a neighboring building, down in Pearl City. The building you are watching is an abandoned shipping warehouse that went under about six months ago. The surveillance camera, according to the company that owns the neighboring building, was aimed at the warehouse once it was closed up to make sure that people weren't getting in and squatting, but three weeks ago that building was purchased and the new business started moving in only two days ago. We contacted the surrounding companies, after tracking Wolt through street cams to this location, and we managed a lucky break with this camera." Kono explained.

"That is Wolt right there," Chin added as he pointed out a man moving among crates that were being delivered."

"We've also identified many of his known associates. Many of these men have ties to our previous victim and suspect, Bachmann and Schwartz, and the weapons that have been tagged and identified as being stolen." Kono explained. "This coupled with the information that we have pulled together, places Wolt at the warehouse, almost as soon as he arrived on the island and, from what we can tell, he hasn't left it since, but vehicles for transportation, unmarked and without plates, have started arriving in the last few hours."

"He's getting ready to deploy, we have to move now." Danny stated.

"Do we wanna bet that all those crates are full of more illegal weapons?" Chin asked as he tapped the screens, "We'd better be extremely careful with that kind of fire power."

"What have I walked in on?" Lex asked as he made his way toward the computer system and found the office a buzz with phones ringing all over the place. "Kono, take the rookie, meet up with SWAT at the location and get us set up," Danny ordered as he strapped on his bullet proof vest and his hands free radio monitor was strung through his vest. "You'll get debriefed by Kono on the way; we have to move out now!" Danny stated, handed the rookie a large automatic riffle and headed off with Chin.

5-0

"Danny?" Steve asked as he finally got through to his partners cell.

"Steve?" Danny asked in shock, "Listen I can't talk right now, we're moving in on Wolfgang Wolt. He's here Steve!"

"Danny. Wait. What?" Steve asked frantically.

"Wolfgang Wolt," Danny stated again, "I've got HPD and civilian intell that has him hauled up in a warehouse in Pearl City. He hasn't moved in two days but about an hour ago three back, unmarked and untagged, vehicles showed up. We think he's moving out to start his take over. We have to move in now, or risk civilian lives. I have to go we only have a small window of opportunity."

"Danny don't, call the navy!"

"Steve, I can't wait on this. I have to move out now. Good-bye!" Danny stated and hung up.


	30. Send Me Home

**A/N: I know this is a very short tease of a chapter, I'm sorry, but it puts Steve into perspective. I know you all wanted Steve to get home, to fly in and save the day, but that's not going to happen. Sorry.**

Chapter 30: Send Me Home

"Danny Wait!" Steve yelled but the line had gone dead.

Steve felt like his stomach had risen to his throat as he dropped the phone and just stared into the darkness that had descended. His team, the best of the best, was moving in on _his_ man right at that same moment and he wasn't going to be there to back them up. There just wasn't enough time and he was shock, rendered completely and utterly speechless. He hadn't even gotten a moment to warn them about Krychuk.

"What is going on?" Catherine asked frantically having only heard the one side of the conversation. "What happened? You didn't tell them."

"He's there," Steve stated, reached around Catherine to the laptop computer and brought up the HPD secure site, logged in, and suddenly the Five-O mainframe and database was alive in front of him. "Wolfgang Wolt is hauled up in a warehouse in Honolulu." Steve stated out loud and his stomach sank. "Danny is moving in right now." Steve stated and rushed out of his make shift office space.

5-0

Catherine had to sprint with the laptop under her arm to keep up with Steve. He shoved the guards out of his way and threw all of his weight at the Admiral's door. It swung open and Steve and Catherine rushed in uninvited.

"What is the meaning of this?" Winchester demanded with the phone receiver still at his ear.

"Wolfgang Wolt is in Honolulu Hawaii!" Steve stated, Catherine slammed the computer down in front of him and the video image played out in front of the Admiral's eyes.

"Well I'll be damned," Winchester whispered, "I'll have to call you back Mr. President." He added into the phone and hung up. "When was this video taken?"

"It's a live stream," Steve answered, "its happening as we speak and Five-O is moving in to apprehend Wolt. You have to send me home right now!"

"Steve, you'll never make it in time." Catherine stated. "All we can do is contact our counterparts on the island and hope that they can get to Danny and the team before things go south!"

"Exactly my thoughts," Winchester stated and picked up the phone again.

Moments passed like hours as Steve paced from corner to corn of the Admirals office, Catherine sat in front of the computer, monitoring the situation and the Admiral yelled and cursed, and ordered and fought, over the telephone with people under his command. He made several phone calls in the span of what Steve wasn't sure was minute or hours, and then hung up.

"What do you have for me sailor?" Winchester asked as he stood and came around to look at the computer screen again.

"It looks like Five-O has arrived on the screen sir," Catherine answered and Steve rushed to her side to watch whatever he could as the incidence unfolded and he was helpless to do anything but pray.


	31. Where Loyalties Lie

_**A/N: Alright everyone, well here it is, the action, the confrontation and the fall out. I hope it is satisfactory.**_

_**Enjoy.**_

Chapter 31: Where Loyalties Lie

Danny and Chin arrived at the neighboring building to see SWAT and the rest of their HPD back up already set and ready to go in. They were sheltered, back away from the eyes of the suspects in the not so abandoned building, with the help of the other businesses in the area. Kono and Lex has managed to evacuate as many civilians from around the area, the neighboring building and the shipping yard as they could, without raising suspicion. Once Danny arrived, all systems were a go.

"Alright, here's how this is going to go. Five-O will take the front, SWAT take the back with HPD cover from the outside. I want riffles on the roves of the surrounding building and you can bet that the navy will be here to assist shortly. But those SUVs are out front and we have to move…"

"There is motion around the SUVs," one of the HPD tech officers stated as he watched the surveillance camera footage.

"I guess were moving now," Danny stated, "lets go!" he added, gave the signal and he and his crew moved in.

Danny took the lead, followed closely by Chin, whose back was always to Danny as he check his six and all of Danny's binds spots. Behind Chin was Kono, walking forward, watching everything that Danny was watching and scanning her peripheral to make sure no one was going to pop out from behind containers and round the corners of the buildings. Lex brought up the rear, covering Kono's back and marching with his weapon ever at the ready. Each of the members of Five-o could hear every other order, every other move and call from the rest of their crew as they moved in, but they, the four Five-O moved in silence never knowing that Steve was watching them all at that very moment.

5-0

Steve held his breath as he, Admiral Winchester and Catherine watched the live feed. He saw his team moving into position. Saw that their backs were covered by a man that he knew wasn't really on their side. He could have yelled, could have screamed, but his voice was gone. There they were, moving in, with an armed ally to the other side covering their backs.

"Maybe Smoltz has changed his ways," Catherine whispered.

"I should be there," Steve sighed and turned away. He couldn't watch anymore. He reached into the pocket of his cargo pants and pulled out the letter that Danny had given him. "You were right not to trust Lex, Danny," Steve sighed and resumed his pacing.

5-0

Between the black SUVs that would carry the fugitives around the island and the advancing Five-Os stood a great expanse; a wide open courtyard where large trucks could pull up to the buildings loading dock, park, or turn around to re-exit the buildings yard once the cargo was picked up. Danny scanned the area, there really was only one way out, and it was through a large, ten foot chain link fence and a gate. Everything else was boxed in by buildings and shipping containers. He check all the high vantage points, saw his own men, SWAT and HPD, barely visible but in their places, and then he looked to the old warehouse building. The windows were dark, backed out or boarded up, but still there was room to see out, or hide behind. There was place enough for many weapons and many other men, but Danny's intuition told him the danger was with him now. It was the nerves of the battle. They were outnumbered by the six other men that crowded around Wolt, but they had exited the building and were moving toward the cars. It was time to go.

"Move out," Danny stated, counted down from three on his hand and then stood and quickly moved out into the open space. "Freeze Five-O; Wolfgang Wolt, you are under arrest."

"You fool me once, shame on you Detective," Wolt stated with a laugh as he came forward. "Where is your navy SEAL now?"

"With or without him, I will arrest you." Danny spat, "and this time you'll not get away."

"I believe that I might. You see, I have the upper hand." Wolt stated as a gun shot sounded from behind Five-O.

"Kono!" Chin gasped and raised his weapon as Kono fell to her knees and Lex towered behind her.

"Lex where did it come from?" Danny asked as he spun around.

"Me," Lex smirked and fired again right at Chin.

The bullet clipped Chin's shoulder as he sprang forward. Fire opened in the open court yard coming from high about and all around. Wolt ducked back behind the cars and opened fire himself, but Danny only had eyes for the traitor.

"Danny, I'm okay, Get that son of a bitch," Chin stated as he fired as well, clipped Lex's leg and made him stumble as he turned and tried to run for cover.

"What about Kono?" Danny yelled as he sprinted forward.

"It went through the vest!" Chin yelled, reached of his cousin and pulled her out of the line of fire.

SWAT moved into court yard just as Danny rushed out of sight after Lex.

Wolfgang Wolt laughed to himself as SWAT moved in. He left the cover of the SUV, a huge automatic riffle in his hands and walked as if invincible toward Chin and Kono.

Chin had been preoccupied. He was bleeding heavily from his arm, but the wound wasn't fatal, his cousin on the other hand wasn't as lucky. Her blood seeped through the hole in her vest, her clothing was becoming saturated, and her eyes, though open, were loosing focus quickly.

"Come on Cuz, stay with me. You can't go like this," Chin stated as he cradled his cousins head.

"He shot me?" Kono asked in shock herself. "I trusted him and he shot me?"

"Danny was right," Chin sighed as the tears appeared in his eyes. "Danny is always right. You have to hang in there Kono; you have to stay with me. Do it out of spite. Fight."

"Chin look out behind you!" Kono yelled with all her might as Wolt appeared, towering over the cousins.

Chin spun in an instant with his sig in his hand and fired two shot before Wolt could even line up his sights. Wolt fell to his knees and then face down into the sand.

"Nice shooting Cuz," Kono sighed as her eyes fluttered and everything went dark.

5-0

"Kono No!" Steve yelled at the sound of the shots that echoed in the small room. "You have to send me back there!" Steve growled as he spun on the Admiral now.

"Steve, Danny's disappeared out of the surveillance; he'd gone after Smoltz alone." Catherine stated. "I lost him!"

"Get satellite imaging on the area," Admiral Winchester ordered and Catherine typed frantically at her computer.

"I should have gone back as soon as I knew there were ties to Wolt," Steve hissed at his commanding officer. "You will find a way to send me home." He ordered, pushed passed the Admiral and left the office all together.

5-0

Lex moved as quickly as he could, but Chin's shot had got him good and he was quickly loosing feeling in his left leg. He rushed to hide behind a crate, rolled over and aimed his weapon out of the opened. The moment Danny was in his sight, because he knew the detective was following him, he would shoot, finish the mission Wolt had set out for him and then next would be to get the Navy SEAL. Lex waited, bleeding heavily as the bullet had hit a major artery and the blood sprayed out of the wound. He waited, and waited, but the detective didn't appear. Then suddenly he heard a noise and before he knew what had hit him, he looked up and flying through the sky, from somewhere high above was Detective Danny Williams.

The butt of Danny's riffle connected with Lex's head, dazing him long enough for Danny to gain control of Lex's riffle and toss it out of the small secluded hiding place.

"How dare you come into my world, and make me trust you!" Danny yelled as his fist connected with Lex's face. "How dare you shoot a good cop in the back!" he added and hit Lex again. "She stood up for you. She befriended you and you shot her! If she dies, I swear to go I will make your life a living hell!" He yelled and landed another punch to the side of Lex's face.

The laughter started to roll up and out of Lex. It was a manic, mad kind of laughter as Danny landed blow after blow and Lex began to bleed from his mouth and his nose.

"You forgot one thing, Detective," Lex smirked and before Danny knew what had happened he felt the barrel of Lex's weapon, Lex's police issued weapon, in his side. "Not enough protection where the vest doesn't cover." Lex hissed, "I suppose you'll be joining your rookie shortly. I hope McGarrett is watching."

"No you've forgotten," Danny hissed and grabbed Lex's hand faster then Lex had ever imagined Danny could move.

In a split second the gun was gone, Danny's elbow connected with the side of Lex's face, as his other hand still held tightly to Lex's wrist and with another movement Danny rolled Lex's over, pinned his arms behind his back and handcuffed him. He then tore at the edge of his shirt, which hung out from under his vest and jammed the wad of fabric into the bullet hole on Lex's leg. Lex's screamed in pain but the bleeding stopped for the time being.

"I learned hand to hand combat from a Navy SEAL; your biggest mistake was crossing me." Danny stated, kicked Lex's second weapon further our of Lex's reach. "I should have killed you, but you deserve to rot in jail knowing that your partner in crime is dead, that you have failed in every way and that, I will tie you to other crimes all over the world. You'll end up in a place so much worse then this, but you deserve to live out that hell. You don't deserve to die, that would be the easy way out for you." Danny spat in the young man's face.

"I knew there was something about you…I just knew it!" He stated as he kicked at the dusty floor and then pulled Lex to his feet.

"Move. Now." He ordered and pushed Lex ahead of him.

Moving quickly with his fugitive, Danny headed back toward the sound of the arriving medical vehicles and the silenced gun fire. He arrived in time to see Kono and Chin loaded into an ambulance and his phone began to ring in his pocket. Wolfgang Wolt laid face down where he'd been shot and all around the area SWAT and HPD were moving in to check the other bodies. Danny felt tears rise in his eyes as he handed Lex off to an awaiting paramedic and a detail of heavily armed HPD offices, and still his phone rang in his pocket.

"I know it's you, Steve, I just can't talk now." Danny said to himself and left the phone where it was.


	32. The McGarrett Guilt

**A/N: So here we go into the denouement and toward the end of our story. There are only a couple of chapters after this one, just to round things off, to bring the team back together and to save face. I hope you like this chapter as it really describes how well they know each other.**

**Also, most of this chapter was based on a vignette that can be found in The Songs of Our Lives. It has changed completely from its first draft but it portrays much of the same emotional state. **

Chapter 32: The McGarrett Guilt

Steve stopped, pulled the phone from his ear and stared at it. It was still ringing but Danny's words echoed through his head. Danny never answered the phone but a wave of energy passed over Steve and he knew why. He ended the call in that moment.

5-0

Danny ignored the phone. Ignored the emergency men and women that flooded in around him, he was numb and just wanted to run and hide. He had felt an anger in him that he had never felt before, the need to fly, literally, into action and then the opportunity was there and he did it, without thinking or planning or ranting about the fall, no, he jumped in knowing that the element of surprised was what was needed to get back at the man who had possibly killed one of his partners. In that moment, Danny needed to know one thing as the naval vehicles arrived on the scene and started pushing HPD back. As men and weapons appeared in military vehicles and people rushed forward to talk to him, to get his statement, he fell silent. No, Danny wasn't in the mood to answer questions, or talk to anyone; he just needed to know where they had taken his family.

5-0

Steve through his satellite phone at the back wall of his little make shift office space and angrily ran his hands through is hair as he finally made his way to the dark space. He cursed and he punched at the air, and he fought back the tears that had come into his eyes. He hadn't been there for the battle, had left his team, his family, unprotected and he was now helplessly waiting for news in the middle east.

"Sailor," Steve spun around at the sound of a voice at his door. "The battle is over. Your target has been neutralized and his second in command has been taken into custody. The remainders of the men, in his operation, have been taken into custody by the united states navy as well." Admiral Winchester stated from just within the doorway. "Your partner, Detective Williams, is a true man of service. The _best_ of the best. Congratulations."

Steve only stared at him as a single tear rolled over his cheek. The anger was so thick and dark, as it built up in Steve, but he had been trained to keep his cool, to not let his emotions show. It was bad enough that he had let a tear fall; he wasn't going to give the Admiral the satisfaction of seeing him infuriated. Steve only stood there and remained completely and frighteningly silent.

"We're sending you home sailor," Winchester stated and there was something like remorse in his tone. He saluted Steve and turned and left, and as the door closed behind him, Steve broke down.

5-0

Danny sat, his head in his hands, as time proceeded to pass all around him.

Chin had been patched up. His wound wasn't that bad; it had only grazed his side and lost most of its energy in the vest that had taken most of the hit. No vital organs were touched and with a short quick surgery he had been given the green light to go. First he had gone to Kono, but she was in surgery and there was nothing he could do. The next thing he did was find his wife, and Malia was shock at what had transpired. The next thing he did, was go in search of Danny. Chin and Malia walked all through the hospital looking in every waiting room, checking the emergency department and even pacing through the OR halls looking, then they realized where he would be and left the hospital all together.

Chin and Malia found Danny right where they thought he would be and they watched him sit in the darkness of his office. The blame was everywhere on Danny's face, and though they knew better then to disturb him, they also didn't want for him to be alone, but there were more pressing matters and after watching Danny for a few moments knowing that he couldn't see them, or that he wasn't watching for them, Chin and Malia left the office and went back to the hospital to wait for news on Kono.

Danny had gone directly to the hospital, seen to it that everything in their power was being done for Kono, and as she was in surgery, he wasn't allowed to see her. He would go back, he'd be there when she needed him but he wasn't going to sit and wait for things to happen. He was too agitated after what he had done and what Lex had done to them to simply sit in a hospital waiting room. He moved on then to Chin, who had gone into the emergency as well for his wound, was patched up with minor surgery but was still in there and Danny wasn't allowed to see him either, so he left.

Danny returned to the Five-O headquarters because he didn't know what else to do, he felt so lost and alone, and he found solace in his office with the blinds drawn and the lights off. He had drifted to a dark, far away place and that was where he wanted to stay.

5-0

Steve sank first to his knees and then sat down on the floor. The emotion had never been so hard to control. The darkness was over powering, it was choking him and he was loosing for the first time in his life. He felt alone and abandoned, and wanted to reach out in his need to the only people that had given him a chance to just be him in all his life, but they were millions of miles away and he didn't know if they were okay. He could feel them, the images of their battle were vivid in his eyes every time he closed them, and yet they were so far away.

He sat on the floor of his make shift office in a foreign land as he drifted off to a dark, far away place and that was where he wanted to stay.

5-0

After the hospital, and after seeing Kono come out of surgery and moved into the ICU, Chin and Malia made their way back to Five-O headquarters where they knew they would find Danny still where they had left him. After all that had happened that day, after the betrayal and the loss and the near destruction of the team, they knew that they would find Danny in the dark place. And they did find him exactly where they had left him.

"We need to stop this," Malia sighed as she watched Danny's shoulders begin to shake, "he has to know it's not his fault."

"It's not just that Kono got hurt, it's that she got hurt on his watch when Steve told him not to do anything crazy." Chin sighed as he watched from outside Danny's office with his wife at his side.

"But he didn't do anything crazy," Malia protested, "he did everything by the book, he had adequate back up, and he knew what you were all getting into. He can't blame himself for things going south the way they did; it happens, and you know you've save so many lives by getting those people off the streets."

"But Danny gave the order, made the choice to go when we should have waited for the navy like Steve had said, but he acted and we went," Chin argued. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not mad and I don't blame him, and in the same situation I would have done exactly the same thing, so would Kono if it was up to her. But Daniel Williams, when paired with Steven McGarrett, will always choose the safer rout. _Daniel_ would have waited, but _Danno_ on the other hand did what Steve would have done and that is what is breaking _Danny_ apart."

"But we all bleed red, I would have chosen to go as well, so would any other sane and understanding law enforcement officer and human being. In the situation that you were dealing with, time wasn't the option, you had to act or the victims would have been the civilians of our islands." Malia stated, "He has to see the good through the bad."

"He won't see it like that," Chin sighed, "it's the McGarrett guilt, and if there isn't a McGarrett around to take the guilt then it falls to his brother, Daniel Williams."

The couple remained in the darkness of the office, watching to make sure that Danny was alright. After another hour of watching Danny loose himself in his emotions he straightened up, moved to the door, nodded to his counter parts and with a weak smile, sent them on their way. Malia didn't understand the conversation that had transpired in absolute silence between her husband and his friend, but Chin moved to lead her toward the door and as they passed out of the Five-O office, Chin reached out and shut off the light.

"He'll be fine," Chin said as he climbed into the passenger seat of Malia's car. "He's gotta make some calls now. Danny's emotions have passed for now and so now he will be able to get back down to business."

"You learned all that from a look?" Malia asked.

"We're Ohana, we just know," Chin smirked. "I'd like to go back to the hospital now and wait for Kono to wake up."

"You read my mind, my love," Malia smiled.


	33. By The Breaking Of The Dawn

**A/N: Hello Everyone. Well here is the second last chapter for _Mahele Hana Hui_. It is short, I know, but it's got the Danny and Steve connection that we are all feeling so starved for. The next Chapter is the last. With school starting again in only a week and the new season starting by the end of September, I'm happy to say I glad to have been productive, at least in something, this summer.**

**Enjoy~**

Chapter 33: By the Breaking of the Dawn

Danny paced the dark office. He didn't want to go home and he couldn't bear to go back to the hospital while Kono was still in serious condition, so he had returned to the office, shut off all the lights and just waited as the sun set and everything faded to black. He could feel the presence of his family, his Ohana, and he had seen Chin and Malia come and go, and he knew they were only there to make sure he was okay, but was he okay?

Danny wondered if he would ever be okay again. In so many places, so many different times, things had gone so wrong. Some of those things had been by his doing, some he had been caught up in but could have avoided, and others he knew were things that changed the course of the entire world and although he knew he was one single man in the grand scheme of things, he felt the weight of the responsibility fall in all around him. He had made it through those events, feeling like he would never breathe again, and he knew, deep down, that he would make it through this one, and so would Kono, even though he couldn't breathe in the moment.

"Everything I did for this family, everything that I promised I would protect, I put it all on the line because I didn't have you here to tell me to stop." Danny sighed as he walked into Steve's empty and unchanged office. "I did what you would have done, and I know that I would have followed you had it been your decisions, but Steve, what have I done?" Danny asked the dark room.

Steve hadn't sat behind that desk in over seven months. He hadn't turned on the computer, or answered that phone or even stepped through the door. There was a hidden layer of dust that had gathered on the book shelf because McGarrett wasn't around to catch what the cleaners dared not touch. The whole office seemed to be loosing McGarrett all together.

"What have I done?"

5-0

Danny jumped up from where he had fallen on the couch in the corner of McGarrett's office, when he heard his phone ringing across the hall in his own office.

Danny sat up slowly, hearing the second ring and walked across the hall. He looked down at the caller display and jumped as he hastily swiped the phone of the hook.

"Steve?" Danny gasped.

"Hey," Steve said cheerfully but there was a hidden sorrow in the tone, "how are things?"

"I got Kono shot," Danny said sadly.

"I know, I saw it all," Steve said with a sigh, "everything was in the cloud, and we watched the whole encounter, until you went off on your own, but I know you got Smoltz because word has already reached me from the higher powers that the threat has been neutralized. You did good work Partner."

"I didn't listen, I just reacted, and everything went to pot," Danny said as he sat down in his chair and his shoulders began to shake.

"Danny, listen to me, it's not your fault." Steve stated.

"But it is, I would have ripped you a new one had it been you calling the shots," Danny said.

"Sometimes, we just have to react, or even we are going to fade to black." Steve said and listened to his friend cry over the phone. "Is Kono going to be ok?"

"She's not out of the woods yet," Danny said sadly. "Lex shot her in the back. I didn't trust him. I didn't want to trust him but he was doing good work. Kono trusted him, she wanted to see the good in him and now she's the one, the one friend he had on this team, and she's fighting for her life in the hospital. It should have been me."

"No, you can't think like that, it shouldn't have been any of you. I tried to tell you but it was too late and you were already moving in to strike. I only just found out myself that Alexander was just and Alias. His real name is Smoltz."

"The navy has him now and Wolt is dead," Danny said darkly, "and I don't want to hear either name ever again."

"I understand," Steve said, "but why aren't you at the hospital with Kono?" Steve asked angrily now.

"Because it's my fault she's there," Danny yelled.

"Even more of a reason for you to be the first one she sees when she wakes up!" Steve yelled back.

"You're right," Danny said softly.

"Oh man, are you ever getting a jersey rant when I get back," Steve said trying to lighten the mood, "you know I learned how to do it pretty accurately from a true Jerseyan so be prepared for a world of hurt when I see you."

"I'll be waiting for it gladly," Danny said and half laughed. "I don't want to tell you what I did with my bare hands to a man who shot my friend. I learned it from a navy SEAL. You can fill in the rest." He sighed.

"Danny you did what you had to do," Steve stated, "don't feel guilty."

"It's hard not to, I'm not trained for this." Danny said.

"I should have been there." Steve sighed.

"Yeah, and what is there left now but a world of regret." Danny sighed.

"Alright, you go to the hospital and sit with our girl. I'm on the flight home." Steve said.

"What?" Danny asked fearing he had heard his partner wrong.

"My mission is over, I'm coming home." Steve smiled to himself, never had the word sounded so good coming from his own lips, "I'll be flying out of here as soon as my travel orders can be finalized, the plane is on the tarmac as we speak and I'm on it. I'll be back in Hawaii shortly."

Danny was silent.

"Are you still there Danny?" Steve asked as worry struck him.

"Yeah, I'll always be here. Just get home safely. We need you now."


	34. Reunited

**A/N: Well everyone here we are. This is the last chapter for this story. I want to thank everyone for reading and following and just plain being supportive through the near twelve months that it has taken for me to write this story. I posted my first chapter on September 20th 2011 and here we are, only days away from the one year and we find ourselves at an end. **

**So much has happened. I full season of our beloved show, trials and tribulations and it has gotten us to this moment, right here. It was a long hard road for me, as most of you know, and I am thankful to have had you all with me through this time. Thank you a million times. I just can't thank you enough for all the wonderful support for my writing and in my life. I may not know you personally, we may have never spoken or even PMed each other, but I call you my friends and I thank you for every kind word, every simple comment and every follow and favorite. **

**By request, the chapter is quite long. I probably could have divided it up into shorter bits, but I decided not to. I hope you enjoy it and thank you once again for reading and sticking with me through the whole story!**

Chapter 34: Reunited

Danny sat in silence, waiting and watching. Kono had awoken once since the surgery, she didn't speak, she looked around at the people gathered before her and didn't seemed to recognize them, but she was still in pain, the machines were still breathing for her and as quickly as she had opened her eyes she had closed them again. The doctors liked that she had woken up, it was a good sign, but they wanted to keep her heavily sedated to allow for her body to recover. She had lost a lot of blood. The bullet has missed her vital organs but it had come close to her spine and she was no where near out of the woods. Kono had even crashed on the table, was clinically dead as they shocker her heart back into rhythm, and then the doctors were able to finish and they hoped for the best.

So, Danny sat waiting and watching, because McGarrett was right. He needed to be with her, to apologies to her for what happen and to reassure her that everything would be ok.

"What kind of a man would I be, if I didn't sit here and wait for you to be better, because I know you will get better, Kono, you have to get better." He whispered into the darkness as he stared at the woman in the hospital bed before him. "Steve is coming Kono, he promised. He's on his way home and he expects to see you awake when he gets here."

5-0

Danny waited through the long, dark, night as doctors and nurses came and went. He had lost track of time, for the most part, but he didn't sleep. His mind was still too full of turbulence to be able to do anything. When morning came, the doctors were more frequent, they spoke to Danny. Chin and Malia returned to hear the news and Malia did her best to answer any question or explain to Danny what was happening, but in Danny's mind, all he heard was that Kono was still treading in very dangerous waters.

By mid-day the doctors decided it would be best to take Kono off the sedation and to give her a chance to breathe on her own. They didn't want her waking up to fight the intubation as they were still very concerned as to the range of her mobility when she did finally regain consciousness. There were so many things to worry about, in Kono's case, because of the length of time she had been under, the amount of blood she had lost and the time that passed when her heart had stopped. Danny, Chin and Malia held their breath as the tube was removed from Kono's mouth and for a moment, that felt more like a lifetime, they waited to see the rise and fall of Kono's breathing. It did come, and when it did the community of doctors, nurses and Ohana in the room breathed a sigh of relied, as her stats stayed stable and the doctor nodded his approval and hopefulness.

In the afternoon, with Kono still not showing signs of waking, Danny got an update on Steve's travel and arrival. It would be the following day before they would see each other, but Steve was definitely en root. Taking his stops, his naval obligations and debriefing, and the distance that had to be covered Danny wasn't surprised that he wouldn't see his friend, but with every passing moment he became more anxious for the reunion. Steve was also anxious and it was heard in his voice, in every question that he asked about Kono's condition and the sadness in the silence as he let the weight of the uncertainty sink in. But he was on his way and that was something to lighten even the heaviest of hearts.

By the time twenty four hours had past, bringing them back around to the time of Kono's confrontation and injuries of the day before, Danny allowed himself to shut his eyes and rest. Malia and Chin sat with him and Kono in the room on the ICU wing and Danny rested as Kono remained still in her bed and the beeping of the monitor was as constant and steady as the waves on the beach. He drifted in and out for a short period of time, hearing every rustling of clothing and every passing of feet by the door, but he soon slept, deeply and without dreams.

Danny awoke to the darkness outside. Chin sat in a chair in another corner of the room and dozed as Malia paced. She walked between the door and the bed, which wasn't a long space but enough for her to put one foot in front of the other and then turn around and head back. She only stopped when she looked up to see Danny's blue eyes watching her.

"Did she wake up yet?" Danny asked as he looked at the clock on the wall and then sat up straighter in his seat.

"No" Malia answered.

"Is that normal?" he asked.

"It is for some people. We can never really know how people are going to react to the anesthetic or the trauma of their injuries." Malia said as she came and sat beside him. "But the doctors are hopeful."

"Tell it to me straight, Malia, not like a doctor." Danny sighed. "I want to know if I should really have hope, or should I be preparing myself for the worst. She's been out a long time. I get that. She lost a lot a blood. I get that too, but what I don't understand is how can we be hopeful if she already nearly died on us?"

"You have to always have hope, Daniel, you can't give up just because time has pasted. Miracles happen, I've seen them." Malia stated as she took his hand and squeezed it tightly. "Hope is the strongest, most powerful, thing that any person can possess, next to love, and Kono had both right now, from all of us, right?"

"Yes," Danny nodded.

"Good," Malia smiled and Chin sat up.

"We need to eat something," Chin sighed as he stretched.

"I'm fine," Danny stated and just stared at Kono in the bed.

"When was the last time you put something into your body?" Malia asked, this time with a tone of authority.

"I can't remember," Danny sighed.

"Chin and I will run out, just for a few moments, and get something to eat and we'll be right back." Malia stated, "and when we come back you will be eating something whether you like it or not. You need to feed yourself. We need you strong and healthy to help Kono with her recovery." She added and Chin followed her lead.

Danny nodded and watched for a moment as his two companions walked out of the room, then he returned his stare to Kono and the steadiness of her breathing.

5-0

The time that passed while Chin and Malia were away seemed liked a lifetime as Danny stared at the rise and the fall of Kono's breathing. Then suddenly, with a sighed that sounded almost like a whisper, Kono's eyes opened, focused and stayed locked on Danny.

"Kono, can you hear me?" Danny asked in shock as he jumped out of his seat and rushed to her bed side.

Kono nodded but didn't speak.

Danny pushed all the buttons he knew to push to call the doctors to the room and in another very quick moment the ICU room was flooded with members of the medical staff. He backed away from the bed side to let the doctors and nurses work on his friend, but Kono's eyes stayed locked on him until the very moment when the room emptied again and they were left along.

"I was shot by Alex?" Kono asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Yes, he shot you," Danny sighed as he held tightly to Kono's hand. "He shot you like the coward that he is but you don't have to worry about him anymore. He's been taken by the navy and will be dealt with accordingly. I'm so sorry this happened to you Kono. I'm sorry. It should have been me."

"No, you were right the whole time." Kono whispered with a tear in her eye, "You didn't trust him, not for one second."

"You're wrong; I did trust him at the end. I trusted him to be apart of the team and to be loyal. I took him into battle without thinking that anything would happen, in one of the biggest battles of our lives, and I was wrong. I shouldn't have let him in. I should have shunned him more, locked him away in the office and made him do paper work. I should have never trusted him with your life." Danny stated. "I am to blame, Kono, and you have to let me take that blame."

"Danny, no," Kono said softly.

"I should have fought harder when Dennings tried to add someone to the team. I should have looked deeper into my own suspicions to find information on that coward." Danny stated and this time there was fire and anger in his eyes. "I should have never doubted my own instincts. I should be the one in that bed. You are an innocent in this, Kono, you should not be hurt." He said and the tears filled his eyes.

5-0

Chin and Malia returned to see the tears rolling down Danny's face, just as they rolled down Kono's.

"Cousin," Chin gasped and rushed around the bed to the other side and gently took Kono's other hand.

Malia took up her place next to Chin, "you're awake." She stated with a smile, trying to chase the sorrow from those eyes.

"I am," Kono whispered. "The doctor says I am very lucky."

"You are, in more ways then the doctor knows." Malia smiled.

5-0

Another night was passed in the hospital in restless wonder as Kono came and went from sleep, the doctors were in and out of the room all night and no one really rested in the ICU unit, but by the early morning Kono's condition had stabilized enough to be moved and she was taken out of the ICU and placed in a private room, with more space, and less noise where she could rest and recover.

Danny followed Kono like a lost dog. He asked many question, got many answers in words that he didn't understand but he hovered all the same. He would stand in corners with his arms crossed over his chest and just stare. He would pace the floor when Kono slept and watched anyone who came and went with great suspicion and he would only ease off his hovering when Chin and Malia were around. They had left late in the night, by Kono's request, to get some rest. Malia would be in the hospital again, early in the morning because she was working, and Chin would return with her and so, when the time came for Kono to be moved, both Chin and Danny were with her.

"You two don't have to stay here hovering," Kono stated once she was settled and an uneasy silence has spread over the new room.

"We know we don't have to, but we will," Chin smiled from his place in the corner.

His speech was interrupted by the entrance of Kono's surgeon and the two men fell back silently as the doctor worked around Kono.

"We want to start running some tests, Miss. Kalakaua," Doctor Mauro stated with a smile. "Nothing overly strenuous, but cognitive and mobility tests, we already know you have a range of motions to all of your extremities, so that is a very good sign, no paralysis, sensation to your fingers and toes, but that doesn't mean that your trauma didn't do something and we want to make sure we have done everything we can for you to get better. Are you feeling up to that?" he asked.

"I will do anything you want me to do," Kono smiled, "as long as you call me Kono and drop the Miss business."

"I'll do my best Kono," The doctor laughed.

"Give him a break kid," Chin smiled.

Kono winked across the room at her cousin.

"She's going to be just fine," Chin stated as he turned and saw the confusion on Danny's face.

"You're sense of humor is with you today," Doctor Mauro said. "It's a good sign; it means you are well on your way to recovery."

"It means she's well on her way to flirting with the man that saved her life." Chin whispered to Danny and for the first time since the previous day, before everything went wrong, before they even knew that Wolt was on the island, Danny laughed out loud.

"What did you say to him?" Kono asked as she looked around the doctor to try and see her family.

"Nothing at all," Chin stated and walked to the door, "I'm gonna head out and get coffee, I'll be back shortly. Does anyone else want anything?"

"Can I have coffee?" Kono asked her doctor with a pout covering her face.

"Not yet, Kono, you've only just come back to us and you are on a lot of different drugs right now. The caffeine is probably not a good idea."

"Can I get her anything?" Chin asked seeing the sadness but the resolve on Kono's face.

"She can have a muffin, but not chocolate," The doctor teased.

"Blueberry, Chin" Kono smiled.

"Ha, anything for you Doc," Chin asked with a laugh.

"No thank you," Doctor Mauro smiled and continued with his tests and writing in Kono's chart.

"I have a quick errand to run as well," Danny stated as he glanced at the clock, "But it wont take long and I'll be right back here." He added.

"You don't have to rush. I'm in good hands," Kono stated and motioned to the Doctor but winked at Danny.

Danny rolled his eyes and shook his head as he followed Chin out of the room, "Chin, can I get your to pick something up for me?" he asked when the two of them were alone in the hall.

"Of course, boss, what do you need?"

"I'm not the boss," Danny sighed and walked with Chin toward the elevator.

5-0

Danny stood leaning on the hood of the Camaro as the hustle and bustle of the base went on as if nothing had happened in their world.

Danny saw Steve before Steve saw Danny. Steve had moved through the throngs of people that moved about the busy naval base. There were always hundreds of them mulling about, rushing from one place to another and when Steve's flight had arrived, he was whisked into it, debriefed on the case, the incident regarding Five-O and his release, for now, from active duty.

Stepping out of the lines, and walking through the gates, and across the lot toward Danny and the waiting Camaro, Steve couldn't help but smile. This was the second returning to Hawaii from active duty, but this time he wasn't returning for a funeral, he was coming back to the work, the friends and the good that he had been awaiting and hoping for through the long, almost eight months, of his tour.

Danny held up his hand to Steve before he reached the Camaro, stopping Steve in his tracks.

"Welcome home, McGarrett," Danny said as he handed Steve his Five-O badge, "The Governor wants you to carry this with you at all times, but you need to take the oath again." Danny smiled.

"I'll take it, in a heart beat." Steve said, took the badge from Danny's outstretched hand and dropped his duffle at Danny's feet.

"Come here you big goof," Danny stated as he wrapped his arms around Steve in a bear hug. "The team hasn't been the same without you."

"I missed you too Danny," Steve smiled when the embrace had ended. "How is Kono?" he asked seriously.

"She's awake, she's got mobility and cognitive functions, don't ask me what that means exactly, but she's also been flirting with her doctor and moved out of ICU this morning." Danny explained.

"I want to see her," Steve stated.

"We all do." Danny smiled, "even though she has tried to chase us away. She wants some alone time with her doctor. I don't see the appeal, but Chin seems to think the Doc has caught Kono's eyes. It's because he saved her life, that's what I'm chalking it all up to."

"We'll I'm sure your picking me up was enough time for flirting." Steve laughed.

"Hopefully," Danny smirked. "So, am I going to have to break down all of your Navy training again?" he asked jokingly as he walked around the passenger side of the Camaro and opened the door.

"No, I heard you for seven and a half months telling me that my actions in the Middle East and the rest of the world would not be acceptable on the civilian streets of Hawaii, and you're right." Steve smiled, threw his duffle into the back seat of the Camaro and fell into the driver seat beside his partner. Before he said another word, Steve waved the letter in Danny's face, "I asked myself often what would Danny do and it served me well." He added.

"Well, that's good to hear," Danny smiled. "It's time to carry on from were we left off. Now, come on, we have to get back to the hospital to be with Kono, and the team needs to stop calling me 'boss'. I'm not the boss."

"No, I am," Steve laughed.

"That's right."

"Are you okay Danny?" Steve asked seriously before he even turned over the Camaro's engine.

"Is this the part where you give me one hell of a jersey rant?" Danny asked trying to deflect.

"No, you don't need one. You did what was right. You saved civilian lives and you got the guys off the street. We know every day that we go out on a case that something could happen and you made that sacrifice. I know the guilt that you are feeling and I know Kono has probably tried to talk you out of it, but I also know it's you and you're not going to let it go that easily. Know this, Danno; I would have done the exact same thing." Steve stated and turned the key.

"I know you would, but I'm not you." Danny sighed.

"You're my brother; we are one and the same."

5-0

Kono sat up straighter in bed when she heard the soft knock at the hospital room door. Chin had arrived again not long after Danny had left, with his coffee and muffin and had been sitting with her through her awakening, her tests and finally the food that the doctor had decided would be alright for her to try to eat, but he had stepped out because he was picking up some things for her and her extended stay in the hospital, and because he had been put on a mission by Danny. He left again with a smile and a promise to be back long before she even missed him and Kono settled back in bed to rest and eat her meal.

"Aloha," Danny smiled as he walked in to find her awake.

"Aloha," Kono smiled and reached out for a hug.

"How are you feeling, girl?" Danny asked with tears in his eyes, "have you seen the doctor, are you going to be okay, I'm so sorry this happened to you. Do you have any new news?"

"Doc says I'm doing great, that I can go home in a couple of days as soon as they are sure I'm stable on my feet again. I'm going to be okay, Danny and I want you to know that I heard everything you said while you were here and I don't blame you. This isn't your fault. I should have listened to your intuition from the very beginning and not trusted Lex." She said as she saw the emotion and the guilt in his eyes, "the doc even said I can try and get up and go for a walk if I am feeling up to it," she smiled. "I'm going to be okay, and now I need to know that you are too. We already talked about this and now my concern is for you. I don't blame you for any of this and I'm going to be fine. So are you?"

"I'm trying to be fine." Danny answered honestly. "Are you?"

"I feel fine," Kono smiled, "I will be okay."

"I will be too, one day," Danny admitted.

"Alright then, lets try for a walk," Kono stated as she threw her feet over the edge of the bed.

"Whoa, slow down," Danny laughed as he sat on the edge of her bed blocking her path. "I think we should wait for some help for you, don't you think? You were just shot."

"The doc did tell me to take it slow," Kono smiled.

"I'd be happy to help you with your therapy today, and we'll go slowly, but first I brought you a little present, something happened today and well I ran into an old friend," he said as Steve peeked around the corner and smiled.

"Oh my God, you're back!" Kono cried as her eyes filled with tears.

"Aloha," Steve stated and scooped the little woman into his arms.

"You're back," Kono whispered as her grip tightened around his neck and he felt her hot tears on his cheek.

"I'm here, and I'm not leaving again." He stated.

"Don't you dare," She said as she dried her tears, "we can't handle cases and worrying about you getting yourself hurt when we can't help you."

"You were with me the whole time," Steve said and pulled the tattered Polaroid photo out of his kaki pocket and handed it back to Kono, "just like I promised, I had my family with me the whole time."

"And I have a surprise for you as well," Danny smiled and pointed at his partner as he noticed the Chin had peeked around the corner.

"What, I thought today was all about Kono," Steve said and shook his head.

"It is," a little voice said from behind him, "but it's also about you."

"Gracie," Steve gasped as he spun around and fell to his knees, as she ran into his arms.

"Thanks Chin," Danny smiled as the eldest member of the team walked in behind Grace with Malia at his side.

"I missed you so much Uncle Steve," Grace whispered into his ear.

"I missed you more," Steve whispered into the little girl's ear.

"I knew you'd come back, I believed it and I just knew it." Grace said proudly.

"I don't want to leave ever again, Gracie, believe me." Steve smiled.

"Well, to answer your question Danny, I feel fantastic now," Kono smiled as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed once more. "So good, I'd like my walk now." She said and watched as Grace ran to collect Kono's slippers and Chin came in and hugged Steve as well.

"Give me your arm Steve," Kono said.

He reached out for Kono and shaking she stood up. Danny took hold of her other hand, and Grace walk proudly before them, the family whole once again.

The End


End file.
